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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28016592">We'll Always Have Paradis</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TatsumakiAphrodite/pseuds/TatsumakiAphrodite'>TatsumakiAphrodite</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Drama, Blow Jobs, Chair Sex, Choking, Creampie, Cunnilingus, Dark, Drama, Drama &amp; Romance, Drinking, Drug Use, Espionage, Exhibitionism, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Facials, Friends With Benefits, Gaslighting, Guns, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Makeup Sex, Minor Character Death, Murder, Orgasm Denial, Rare Pairings, Smoking, Smut, Suicide, Torture, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, Waterboarding, no love triangles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:27:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>28,622</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28016592</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TatsumakiAphrodite/pseuds/TatsumakiAphrodite</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After her abrupt disappearance 4 years ago, Annie reunites with Reiner to help him dispose a body. A whirlwind romance and a tumultuous relationship begin thereafter. But Annie’s reappearance and her sudden interest in him have Reiner questioning her true motives. Annie is just doing what she can to survive.<br/>----</p><p>For the second time that night, Reiner couldn’t stop himself when he muttered, “You’re not wearing a bra, Annie.” </p><p>She looked at him with her casual bored look, but her lips spoke otherwise when she stated, “I’m not wearing underwear either.” </p><p>----<br/>*Additional tags to be added as story progress.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Reiner Braun/Annie Leonhart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>107</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">

        <li>
          Translation into Русский available: 
            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29714838">Парадиз останется с нами навсегда</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiceLoveCat/pseuds/MiceLoveCat">MiceLoveCat</a>
        </li>


    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic is for all the ReiAni shippers out there (like, all 3 of you… whoever you are). To make up for the lack of fics on this ship, there will be a lot of smut (but not in the first two chapters). The explicit content will be on AO3 and a tamer version will be on ffDOTnet.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annie Leonhardt pushed closed the creaking door behind her. Fingers pried open the dusty shutters to just a barely noticeable slit as she surveyed a half empty parking lot. Clouds, thick with rain, concealed the midnight moon. The only sounds from the outside were the monotonous humming from the dim orange streetlamps. The earth remained still like an under exposed photograph.</p><p>Packaged in a five-foot frame, Annie possessed straight ash blonde hair that reached just below her shoulders and a set of heavy-lidded icy blue eyes that is always stuck on a deadpan expression as they judged you with disinterest above her Roman nose. She looked like she had just waltzed out of a film noir. What separated her from the 1940’s femme fatale was her choice of attire. Instead of the suggestive gowns, Annie disguised as a shadow, covered from head to toe in black—black turtleneck, black jeans, even black gloves to match her black shoes.</p><p>She turned to witness a scene before her. There’s a lingering musty smell of sex in the air. Upon her arrival, Reiner Braun halted his pacing, instead he resigned to a tattered reading chair, burying his head into his hands. It has been a few years since she had last seen him. His blond hair has grown a bit. There was a layer of scruff on his face and sleeplessness in his eyes. From his hunched form, Annie could tell that the blond was still broad and muscular, maybe a little less so due to maturity, but shame and depression had filled the holes left behind by youthful pride and shallow ambition.</p><p>Bertholdt Hoover stood tall by the bed. His eyes scanned the naked and bruised limp form, partly hidden under the stained sheets. Despite being the only non-blond in a room of four, dead or alive, Bertholdt still managed to recede quietly to the background.</p><p>Annie’s cold blue eyes also caught sight of the crime on the mattress.</p><p>“Shit,” she managed to hiss between her teeth.</p><p>“I don’t know what happened,” Reiner sputtered through his fingers. “We were having fun one moment and then the next…” His golden eyes widen as he recalls the event in his mind. He cried in frustration, thrusting his palms against his face again.</p><p>The small woman stomped over to him. Her eagle-like eyes brimmed with distaste as she looked down at a crying Reiner. The six-foot-two man appeared small and feeble in front of her. Annie scowled, disgusted by the sight. This man once dubbed himself the leader of the trio, now he’s this sniffling little bitch. Pathetic. Small hands firmly grab hold of his collar. He lifted his head only to see the back of her hand landing squarely across his harden cheek.</p><p>“Keep it together,” she spat, “We don’t have that much time to waste.”</p><p>Reiner nodded as he touched the light sting on his cheek. Four years later, Annie is still just as no nonsense as she was back in school.</p><p>Bertholdt observed the body. Disheveled short blonde hair. Bruises dotted her like a ripe banana. Dark purple concentrated on her face and neck. Her lifeless pale blue eyes wide and bloodshot. Blood trickle through the orifice of her face. Curiously, the nail was violently ripped from each finger, leaving gaping sores on the end of the tips. “Cause of death is asphyxiation, but you did a number to her before she passed.”</p><p>The brunet only spoke in statements. His voice was low and soft, almost calming. His stance and demeanor were that of a tree; the type that would sway with the wind but is rooted to the ground. He was also the tallest of the three. While he was the gentle giant, the other two resembled a wildfire and a hurricane in destructiveness. Bertholdt always got stuck in the crossfire between the two when they fought. And they fought a lot.</p><p>“I lost control.” Reiner glanced over at the bed.</p><p>Annie rubbed her temples. How did she get dragged into this? Back in their school day, Reiner had a tendency to cause trouble and they had to clean up his mess. To others, he was a model student, even earning second rank in the graduating class 104, while simultaneously being the most popular guy in school. (No one picked on you for having good grades when you’re a six-foot tall hulkling.) Annie and Bertholdt knew the truth though. But the small blonde knew now is not the time to dig up old memories, especially not of <em>that</em> one incident, the one she had suppressed in the deep recesses of her mind.</p><p>“Who was she?”</p><p>“Just a streetwalker I picked up outside a shitty dive bar. Never got her name.”</p><p>Annie leaned into the small wastebasket. With a pencil she drew from the desk, she fished out a soaked condom. “Is this yours?”</p><p>Reiner nodded. At least he used some protection.</p><p>The sounds of tires screeched outside. Patrons of bar and clubs would start to fill the motel to have some fun until three o’clock. It was too risky to drag the body out down the hall. Usually Reiner came up with the plans, but his incapacitated state pulled Annie to take the lead.</p><p>Annie surveyed the room until her eyes landed on the bed again. “Lift the mattress,” she instructed.</p><p>Reiner and Bertholdt complied. Reiner tried not to touch the cadaver as he leaned into the side and dug his hands to the edge of the bed. It was a light lift, but balancing was a different story. Annie joined at Bertholdt side. Their upward momentum caused the body to roll slightly over, its stilted knee grazed Reiner’s chin, still a bit warm to the touch. Horrified, he nearly drops the mattress before his friends released their edge.</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes at his cowardice. Without a pause, she pulled up the sleeves of her turtleneck and whipped out a switch blade, cutting a long precise line down the middle of the box spring.</p><p>Admiring her handy work, the blonde pointed, “Shove her in there,” gesturing the slit in the small rectangular prison. Seeing Reiner’s hesitation, Annie reminded, “Hurry before rigor mortis sets in.”</p><p>“How do you expect me to jam her body into that small hole!?” Reiner responded in exasperation.</p><p>“I don’t know. You jammed your dick into her hole before you decided to end her.” Reiner glanced over at the petite woman, taking that as a compliment to his size even if it did come off as condescending. Condescending was her default, and that was probably the first compliment he had ever received from her in the many years he had known her. She didn’t seem to notice Reiner’s beaming expression.</p><p>Closing his eyes and slowly inhaling a deep breath of stale motel air, Reiner dropped his previous demeanor as his eyes glazed over. Immediately focused on the task at hand, he picked the naked battered body in a quick impassive scoop. The feeling of disgusted escaped him as he shoved it right in between the exposed rusted springs in the same enthusiasm as one throws out trash.</p><p>Annie mentally recoiled at the gross clatters the body made as the brute forcefully crammed it into the tight space with the grace of a toddler ramming a square peg into a round hole. The sounds of cracked bones and ripped skin amongst other noises on top of Reiner’s grunting filled the otherwise quiet room as he continued to mold the corpse carelessly, as if it was never living in the first place. Shivers crawled up Annie’s spine as she witnessed this man on a mission. A soulless expression replaced the frightened look that was present just minutes ago. Chilling as to how quickly and easily he can flip the switch, just like that one incident back in school.</p><p>Bertholdt observed in silence, his face slighted with disappointment.</p><p>“O.K. You’re done.” Annie finally injected, stopping the man’s action. “You don’t want her to deteriorate that fast.”</p><p>Reiner’s brows unfurrowed, a stunned look filled the void, as if woken from a trance. He looked at his hands and then at his handiwork.</p><p>“Mattress back on top.” The blonde ordered. “The quicker we wrap this up the sooner we can leave.”</p><p>The trio assumed their previous position and lifted the bedding. This attempt a lot easier as there was no body to maneuver in their balancing act. Hovering right above the box spring, six hands release the mattress in unison. There was an uncomfortable weight to something that was once light, heavy like a stone lid to a sarcophagus. No one made visual contact with the victim.</p><p>“Annie—"</p><p>Wasting no time, Annie picked up the sex worker’s possessions. “I’m going to check for cameras and security footage. You figure out the rest. Meet me at my car in twenty minutes.” With that she snuck out of the room.</p><p>Reiner rubbed his chin then looked over at Bertholdt. “I need to return the keys to the innkeeper. When I distract him, you grab the sign-in book and change some names around. You know, since forgery is your thing.”</p><p>Bertholdt nodded as he made his way to the door. His blond friend followed him.</p><p>“There’s something about that feels like déjà vu. Like, we did something like this before.” Reiner mused, his lips twisted into a smile as he reminisced of the good old days with the three of them at school as they tried to fit in with the rest of the Eldians at Paradis Island while maintaining high standing in class ranking. Reiner was the big brother that all the misguided teens of the boarding school looked up to with Bertholdt being his docile and good-natured best friend. Somehow, their popularity soared amongst their peers. Annie would distance herself from the two of them in public, adapting the loner persona, but she would often time join them on the rooftop after class. She had a tendency to worm her way out of writing papers and Bertholdt always seemed to have a spare at hand.</p><p>“I really miss those days, Bertl.” Reiner murmured, “Back when we were in school, when the biggest worry was trying not to get discovered.”</p><p>Bertholdt knitted his brows, “I don’t know how you can be smiling right now.”</p><p>“It’s been a while since the three of us got together like this.”</p><p>Bertholdt frowned and gave his friend a worrying glance. “A lot of things have changed since then, Reiner. Sometimes you have plans for how you want things to go, and life just drops a bomb on you. You just have to go with it and accept it. It’s useless to think about the past when you don’t have a future.” Bertholdt replied bitterly as he looked at the direction of Reiner; however, his eyes were galaxies away.</p><p>Reiner glowered over Bertholdt’s response then coming to the realization, “Are you referring to Annie? You were going to ask her out after graduation, right? Then she just disappeared.” He draped his arm over the taller man’s shoulder. “Well, she’s back now. Four years late, but you can start over with her.”</p><p>Bertholdt shook his head, giving the blond a toothless smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.</p><hr/><p>Spying a silver two door sedan under the flashy neon sign of the Motel Maria, Reiner stalked down the half empty parking lot. Leaning into the open driver side window, he finds Annie sitting there lighting a cigarette between her lips.</p><p>It was surprisingly easy to steal the registration book from the office manager. The man was half asleep when Reiner greeted him to return his keys. The keeper moved in at a pace not unlike a snail. There wasn’t a computer documenting any of the guests, instead all records were documented traditionally by pen and paper. With a quick sleight of hand, Bertholdt removed the page from the book, not bothering to manipulate the ink on paper.</p><p>“The technology here is so outdated,” Annie commented. “There’s only one working camera and it’s behind the register in the office. All those other cameras,” with her cigarette she pointed at the small cylindrical domes scattered on the ceilings of throughout open hallways of the building, “are not connected to anything. They’re just decorations.” Taking a short puff, “I got rid of the footage of you entering and leaving the office.”</p><p>“Well, this is the cheapest motel in the area for a reason,” Reiner laughed. Annie side-eyed him, unamused.</p><p>“Anyways, thanks,” Reiner said sheepishly.</p><p>Taking a slight pause, Reiner joked as he eyed the ski mask in the back of Annie’s car, “By the way, Annie, were you planning on robbing a bank before you got here?”</p><p>Ignoring that statement, Annie asked, “Any ideas on where we can get rid of this?” referring the clothes and belonging of the newly deceased woman that’s sitting on her passenger seat.</p><p>Reiner rubbed his chin, “There’s a campground outside of the city. We can burn those things there.” An idea came over him. “Why don’t we grab lunch tomorrow and head out? My treat.” A smirk crossed his lips as he plotted to bring his two friends together.</p><p>“Of course. After tonight, you owe me.”</p><p>Reiner stuck his tongue at the stoic woman, “Yea, yea.” With that, he climbed into his SUV and they split off for the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not my OTP, but after working on this for NaNoWriMo, I am so invested in them. Who would have thought that the first story to break me out of my unofficial writing retirement is a smutty fic in this fandom with this pairing? I’m new to AO3 so the tags are a bit messy.</p><p>Edit (3/21/2021): I don't know how I didn't catch some of the big grammar mistakes before uploading this. Thanks to my lovely beta reader, I made some corrections.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fingers covered in red buffalo sauce stripped the last stranded of meat clean off a chicken bone. The salvaged meat was then crammed it into Annie’s mouth before her hands probed for another wing. Reiner and Bertholdt watched in awe at the woman before them. Such small woman with an appetite of a starved dog.</p><p>Annie sat alone on her side of the booth, while Reiner and Bertholdt were attached to the hips across from her. Once food came, Annie was done with small talk.</p><p>"Isn't that spicy?" Reiner questioned as Annie shoved another piece of chicken in her mouth.</p><p>Annie paused for a moment to savor the taste, "Maybe over salted."</p><p>Reiner never knew Annie was a spice hound. In the years he had known her, much like her opinion on most people, her taste in food had been kind of bland and she had little to no opinion regarding flavor. But this person in front of him looked like she hadn't eaten in years. Bertholdt, being the weirdo that he was, laughed at her antics. He probably finds hungry children Christmas commercials endearing.</p><p>"Thanks for your help last night."</p><p>Annie sucked on her fingers. “When you said you were going to treat me to lunch, I was thinking something along the lines of a four-star restaurant and not… this.”</p><p>In the morning, Reiner texted Annie an address for their noon meeting. Her lips tugged into a tight upside-down “U” when she pulled into the parking lot and walked into the rundown roadside diner. She was welcomed by weary looks from the cashier as she made her way pass the cake display. The baked goods (more like baked bads) looked hard and dry. The chalky cream spread unevenly, revealing raw batter underneath. The smell of burnt toast and dirty feet emitted from the kitchen. Dated posters on the walls faded into a yellowish tint. All of the seating had rips in their pleather upholstery and no longer bounced back from weight. Brushing her fingers across the unoccupied table, a layer of grime greeted Annie’s touch. A minute later Reiner joined her, and she gave him a look that could only be described as peeved and unimpressed.</p><p>Reiner shrugged. “This place is right off the highway. Thought it would be easy for us to get to the next destination. I’ll get you a better meal after all this is over. Promise.”</p><p>Bertholdt, being the pacifist that he is, injected, “This place isn’t that bad. At least you enjoy the food here.” Though he could not say the same about his watered-down French onion soup with no onions, carelessly decorated with stale bread crumb and green cheese fuzz.</p><p>After a slight pause, Annie relented. "Try not to kill anymore." She sighed dejectedly, munching on her chicken wing. It was a half joke, but she also meant it.</p><p>Reiner flashed his pearly whites at her.</p><p>"So... Where have you been these last four years?"</p><p>Annie stopped eating. An unreadable expression crossed her face as she fidgeted with a celery stick on her plate.</p><p>Four year. Annie just dropped everything and disappeared one day. No note, no goodbye. The three of them were the best of friends, enduring so much together. Then one day, Annie just ditched them without a note or a warning. Now, all of a sudden, she's back. When Reiner saw his phone ring with an unknown caller, he was determined to let it go to voicemail. Curiosity got the best of him, so he picked up, half expecting it to be a spam call about expired car insurance. When he heard Annie's voice on the other end, a feeling woke inside of him. He couldn't quite explain it. Maybe it was a feeling of nostalgia and longing for an old friend. Maybe it was anger and resentment for her to leave without saying anything. Maybe it was depression, reminding him how much things have changed since they last talked.</p><p>Wiping the sauce from her mouth, Annie looked at Reiner straight in the eye. "I was in prison.”</p><p>Both men's eyes widen like saucers. "What for?"</p><p>"Apparently, it is a felony for assaulting an undercover cop." Annie narrowed her eyes as she reminisced, "Asshole had it coming."</p><p>"Why didn't you call me? I could've done something about it."</p><p>Annie waved, "I was permitted one phone call that I didn’t use." She paused slightly, looking around before lowering her voice. " I can't have them suspect there to be a connection between us. It'll jeopardize our mission."</p><p>The two men nodded.</p><p>"How are things with you?"</p><p>Before Reiner could answer, something on the old-school box T.V. caught Annie's eyes.</p><p>With the audio off, Annie tried to figure what's being air with the delayed closed captioning. Headline read "Royal Scandal: Socialite pregnant with first child, Father unknown." A beautiful young woman with shiny blonde hair and bright blue eyes graced the screen. Following her eyesight, Reiner saw the headlines and the woman's face before immediately turning away from the monitor.</p><p>"She looks familiar," Annie mused out loud. "That name doesn't ring a bell though." She turned her attention back to the two in front of her. "Who is she?”</p><p>Reiner did not answer. Bertholdt placed a hand over at Reiner's shoulder for reassurance. Reiner took a bite of his waffles.</p><p>Silence hung in the air with only the sounds of clattering dishes as the server cleaned a table nearby. Taking the lack of response as a hint, Annie chomped down on another wing.</p><p>Annie attempted to make small talk again. It was not her style, but she was trying something different. "Where do you live? What’d you do for living?"</p><p>"I live in uptown. It’s not super spacious but it works for me. Got it for a steal. Close to the train, nice neighborhood, a ton of food places and bars." Contemplatively, Reiner followed up with a "How 'bout you?"</p><p>Annie shredded another piece of chicken with her teeth, "Since I just got out of prison, I still need to find a place to stay. Like, a more permanent one.” She chewed as she spoke, not bothering with the etiquette of polite society, “I'm at a hostel right now. Nothing too weird, but the people there are usually drugged up and sometimes they get in your face. Nothing I can't handle but I rather not." She swallowed the food in her mouth and chugged her glass of water.</p><p>"I'm sure if anyone tries with fuck with you, you'll just break their shins." Reiner laughed, remembering how Annie easily beat up most of the guys in school for attempting to ask her out or gawking at her without her permission.</p><p>“Speaking of shins… are you still in contact with Eren?” Annie recalled fondly all the times she used to beat Eren Jaeger up back in school until the punk wised up and asked her for mentorship. She observed Reiner’s face when she mentioned Eren. Unexpectedly, his lips twisted into a smirk.</p><p>“Still dreaming about your schoolgirl crush after all these years, Annie?” Reiner teased.</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes, “No one had time for crushes back then.”</p><p>"Just ask this dude," Reiner laughed, pointing at Bertholdt with his thumb. "He was too chicken shit to ask you out because he knew you would crush him even though he's like twice your size." A blush crept on the brunet's face.</p><p>Annie stared at him impassively with a chicken bone in her hand. "Who are you talking about?"</p><p>Reiner rolled his eyes. "Annie, you're still a bitch after all these years. Right, Bertl?" He elbowed Bertholdt playfully. The tall man did not respond.</p><p>Annie eyed the overcooked omelet skillet, two plates of chicken and waffles drenched in syrup (one that Reiner was poking at), and a bowl of watery French onion soup at their table. Initially, she thought Reiner had the appetite of a hippo with tape worms, but now she realized that there was a different, more pressing issue.</p><p>"Reiner, I hate to break it to you." She looked at him, maintaining full contact with her mirthless eyes to his smiling ones. She swallowed, "Bertholdt is dead."</p><p>"Ha ha. Very funny." Reiner brushed her off. He didn't know what Annie was trying to pull when Bertholdt was sitting next to him this whole time, laughing along with the both of them.</p><p>"He died three years ago." There was a serious edge to Annie's voice.</p><p>The smile dropped from the blond's face as he looked at the small woman before him. "I don't know what kinda jokes they tell in prison but that is stupid and not funny. Bertl has been with me the last couple of years." Reiner frowned before adding, "He is definitely very much alive." He looked over to where his friend was sitting only to find a cold empty seat. Confused he looked around and under the table, convinced that Bertholdt and Annie teamed up to mess with his head.</p><p>That’s right. The big softie has a thing for Miss grumpy cat. They probably planned the prank this morning before Reiner got to the restaurant because nothing made any sense otherwise. He glanced across the table to find Annie’s unfaltering gaze. His grin melted off his face.</p><p>"I don't understand." Reiner shook with disbelieve as shove his fingers through his hair like he was about to rip it from his scalp. Bertholdt was just next to him one moment, laughing at his jokes.</p><p>“But last night, at the motel… You were talking to him.” Reiner accused.</p><p>“I was only talking to you, dummy.” Annie lowered her voice to almost a hushed whisper as her eyes darted around the restaurant. “There was only the two of us and <em>that</em> <em>chick</em> in the room.”</p><p>Reiner sunken into his seat.</p><p>“But… how?”</p><p>Annie studied the distraught man before her. “You were there with him when it happened. You tell me.”</p><p>Reiner’s eyes widen and suddenly a crippling, repressed memory assaulted all of his senses, propelling him to a place of his nightmares.</p><p>
  <em>Reiner waved his hand, beckoning Bertholdt to follow him through the lush green. Both men donned camouflage uniforms as they stalked through enemy territory. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Are you sure we should be going this way?” The lanky brunet questioned his stockier blond cohort.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Trust me, this is the quicker path.” Reiner reassurance with a cocky grin.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Bertholdt nodded, giving his partner his full trust. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>A small click stopped both men in their tracks.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What the hell is that?” Reiner turned to asked Bertholdt, only to find the taller man standing completely still behind him. Bertholdt’s fingers wrapped tightly on his shotgun as his slowly lowered his gaze to his feet. Reiner followed suit and realized what the brunet was hinting at.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Shit! I’ll get help.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At that moment, Jean Kirschtein and Connie Springer appeared from behind some trees. Reiner flagged them to come forward. “Watch where you’re stepping, guys!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I thought you two went to suck each other off somewhere,” Jean joked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Reiner ignored the man with the horse-like face. “He stepped on a landmine. We need to help him.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Connie’s eyes widened, “Fuck! Seriously?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Bertholdt, completely drenched in sweat, looked at the two younger men who just joined them. “Guys, it’s too late. You have to take Reiner and run.” His legs began to wobble. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand here like this.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Don’t be stupid. The four of us can come up with something.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Reiner, you have to live. You need to find her,” the taller man’s voice dripped with desperation as he tried to reason with his longtime friend.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jean and Connie looked at each other. With their backs turned, standing on either side of the beefy blond, they formed a Reiner sandwich. Grappling his arms, the two smaller men dragged the muscular blond backwards.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Shocked to see his feet before him and his partner in crime farther and farther from his reach, Reiner did not react immediately. “The fuck, guys!? We have to help him. He’s going to die!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Reiner ripped his arm from the shorter man with the buzzcut. Jean began to lose his grip as Reiner tugged away. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Fuck!” Jean released Reiner and, in a swift motion, he swung the back of his shotgun at Reiner’s head, temporarily incapacitating him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When Reiner came to, he could barely make out Bertholdt’s facial expression. Then he was greeted by a blinding light and a loud bang and his best friend was no more.</em>
</p><p>Reiner’s eyes widen with his skin in an ashen state after recovering a memory he rather left forgotten.</p><p>Usually being the aggressor, Annie wasn’t very good at comforting people. But she reached over and held Reiner’s hand with her sticky ones as a gesture of comfort. He didn’t look at her. She felt a little guilty as she witnessed firsthand Reiner's troubling grip with reality.</p><hr/><p>They drove an hour and a half to a small campground outside of the city under a heavy overcast. Usually the place filled up around the thick of autumn as the temperature dropped to a temperate sweater weather. The perfect season for kids and adults to go for a hike in the day light, then spooking each other in the dark by a campfire as the moon glimmered from above. Luckily for Reiner and Annie, it was not the weekend. On top of that, most people cleared out from the rain that morning, leaving only a few enthusiasts scouting in the woods.</p><p>Annie sucked on her cigarette as she stared at the glow of campfire in front her. The smell of firewood and pine licked her nose in between the tobacco.</p><p>Initiating the ceremony, Reiner tossed a light blue shirt and a sequined skirt into fire. The fire darkened and hissed; the pungent smell of burning plastic and dyed cloth followed shortly after. The orange flames grew as they greedily engulfed the sacrificial items in soft crackles. Annie released a puff of smoke between her lips. Dark shadows flickered around them like a tribunal dance.</p><p>As the clothing began to char, Reiner continued to throw more items into the fire, including a smashed phone and a used condom. After emptying out all the contents on to the flames, he tossed the woman’s purse in the hellmouth too. Using a laminated menu he stole from the rundown diner, Reiner fanned the orange flames. The two blonds watched, completely spellbound by the fire as it roared menacingly, screaming while devouring more of the objects within.</p><p>With almost everything of the late woman destroyed by the fire, the only things left were her ID and credit cards tucked in Reiner's hand. He doesn't want to look at them. Knowing this woman's name and other information would make his crime too despicable when she becomes a real human with an identity and life beyond just a body he put to rest.</p><p>Seeing Reiner hesitate, Annie snatched the cards from his hand and cut them up with a pair of scissors he did not know she possessed. She had also stolen them from the diner that was currently minus one menu. Damp leaves mushed behind her sneakers as she made her way closer to the fire. Standing next to the fire pit, she sprinkled the pieces into the flame.</p><p>Reiner witnessed at the fire melted each piece with ease, erasing the identity of the unknown woman he had wronged.</p><p>They walked in silence until finally reaching the parking lot. Reiner had a lot to think about that day, from the revelation at the diner to the cleansing fire ceremony. He looked over to Annie as she climbed into her car. Reiner lingered by her driver's seat window, which is down due to her smoking habits, and asked for her evening plans.</p><p>"I need to do laundry," Annie shrugged, "My clothes reeks of cheap perfume and fire."</p><p>"You can come over to my place. I have a washer and dryer unit." Reiner offered. It was the least he could do. Plus, he didn't want to be alone tonight.</p><p>Annie mulled over the idea. "Sure." She didn't want to go to the laundromat anyways. The part of town that she was staying at gets a little dangerous after sundown. Although she was capable of handling herself, she didn't care to get into unnecessary confrontations with strangers at the moment.</p><p>"Great! I'll text you my address. See you tonight then!" Reiner sounded a lot more enthusiastic than he intended.</p><p>Annie watched as he hopped into his SUV from her side view mirror.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Going to be honest with you, I finished chapter 3 before I finished this one. This chapter is pretty meh but it’s necessary. Had been looking at it last few weeks, but I don’t know how to make it better. Maybe I’ll fix this again one day. Anyways, chapter 3 will be posted before the end of the year, but I need to make a less filthy version for ffDOTnet (AO3 gets the uncensored version).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><b>Warning:</b> Sexual Content. If you want to skip (you can kinda figure out where it starts), please read the last paragraph.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reiner threw open the door to his apartment as Annie sauntered in, lugging her overflowing hamper against her thighs.</p><p>“Four flights of stairs, huh?” Annie wiped a drop of sweat from her brows.</p><p>“A piece of cake for you,” Reiner joked.</p><p>Annie used to really enjoy running. Stamina and endurance were not an issue for her. Back in their school days, her athleticism had been the talk of envy amongst many of the guys and girls. The blonde made it looks so easy when she breezed through the track. There was a bit of fear and appeal to her that tickled the boys’ fantasy. Bertholdt had the biggest crush on her because he was a masochist.</p><p>Reiner caught noticed of the girl’s attire. Missing were the usual baggy sweater and jeans. Instead, Annie donned a white fitted tank top that was cropped to show her tone midriff with some extra-short draw-string shorts. Despite being only five feet, she looked like she had legs for days. He didn’t think it was possible for her to show so much skin.</p><p>“Aren’t you cold?” the words slipped from his mouth before he could stop himself.</p><p>“Laundry day,” Annie gestured the hamper in her hands as if that answered everything.</p><p>Reiner nodded, leading Annie to the washer and dryer that’s tucked away into the kitchen by the door of the fire escape of his small one-bedroom apartment. The petite blonde walked ahead of him with her basket of dirty clothes. As she bends over to set her hamper on the floor, the oxen man watched as the short shorts lifted, revealing the curvature of her ass. It was no secret that Annie has a nice butt, though not many can claim to see it in the flesh. Back in military school, all the guys would line up to see Annie run in the morning just to catch a sight of her backside. Luckily for them, she never found out about their extracurricular activity.</p><p>Annie spun around. Immediately, he averted his gaze. “I have some time. Do you want to show me around?” Her voice was flat with no enthusiasm whatsoever. Reiner thought she was being sarcastic, but as the silence grew, he realized that she was actually waiting for his response.</p><p>There wasn’t much to show as the floor plan was pretty much open aside from the bedroom and bathroom. Nevertheless, the man complied, getting into more details than necessary.</p><p>Reiner started off at the living room where the front door lead into. A large flat screen T.V. mounted above an entertainment center next to a large bird of paradise in a matted teal planter pot. A weary wooden coffee table with a wobbly leg intercepted between the T.V and the mahogany leather loveseat. There was a circular black rug underneath the couch and coffee table that didn’t quite work with the décor. Reiner pointed at a punching bag with a man’s head and torso position securely in the corner of the room.</p><p>“That’s Sawney Bean. He came with this place. You can take your anger out on him,” he laughed.</p><p>Annie shrugged. She wasn’t sure what he was implying.</p><p>The living room transitions into the dining room and kitchen combo with a half wall divider. The small square dining table has been repurposed to a desk with a laptop, loose change, books, a half bottle of Woodford Reserve next to an empty whiskey glass, and a ceramic bowl of various flavors of Cliff bars. The tiny kitchen space had quite a few counters and cabinets. Annie spotted the silhouette of the fire escape from the window above the sink. After showing Annie the door to the fire escape and the laundry and storage area from before, Reiner circle back around the apartment. They passed by a bookshelf that seemed randomly placed against the wall next to the bathroom. There was nothing remarkable about the bathroom except maybe the tub and shower set.</p><p>Finally, Reiner stopped in front of his bedroom door.</p><p>“Fair warning, I didn’t clean.”</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes. Like she would care. They have known each other for so long that she knows most of his bad habits. A dirty room is nothing compared to a dead prostitute.</p><p>The door swung open, Annie brushed passed him and slowly made her way around the room, taking in every detail. She looked around at the setup without a second glance, but then something on his desk caught her eyes. Halting in front a framed photo of the two of them and Bertholdt, she clutched the picture tightly in her palms and stared at it with complete fixation. The three of them were caught in mid-laughter, almost like they didn’t have to carry the fate of two worlds on their shoulders. It was a good minute before she set it down next to two sets of dog tags, with one set melted out of shape. Her fingers traced the image of her fallen comrade.</p><p>“Do you want to see something?” Reiner called out, waving a small photo album in the air. Annie sprinted over to him by the bedside. He couldn’t help noticing how her breasts jiggled almost freely under her top, suddenly realizing that she was not wearing anything else underneath. Reiner felt his pants slowly tighten.</p><p>Annie sat next to him on his queen size mattress. Flipping open the book, Reiner knew it was a bad idea. As Annie leaned in, Reiner peeked at her cleavage, noting the translucency of her tank top. He spied her harden nipples as her right breast pressed against his arm with only a thin fabric separating skin to skin contact. The cool tips of her fingers burned his knuckles as she reached over to flip the page.</p><p>For the second time that night, Reiner couldn’t stop himself when he muttered, “You’re not wearing a bra, Annie.” He sucked the air back into his lungs, wanting to punch himself hard. Surely, his female companion would kick his ass for sounding like a pervert. The old Annie definitely would’ve flipped him to the ground and grind his face into a meat paste with her bare fists. He pulled back in anticipation; however, what comes next was something more shocking than anything he was prepared for.</p><p>She looked at him with her casual bored look; but her lips spoke otherwise when she stated, “I’m not wearing underwear either.” She said it with such earnest that Reiner had to do a double take. The blood from his face drained to a lower area in his body.</p><p>Reiner choked. Biting down hard on his lower lip, he tried forcing himself to focus on anything else, but all concentration left his head to take refuge in his bulge as it grew bigger. He wasn’t sure if Annie was just messing with him, but he knew if he doesn’t take care of it soon things would get really awkward between the two old friends.</p><p>Without another word, the blond man slammed the album shut and rushed to the door. Annie was a lot faster though and blocked him from the exit.</p><p>She lifted her chin as she met his eyes, challenging him to make the next move. Her gaze then dropped to eye the elephant in his pants. Reiner felt exposed.</p><p>He would never consider Annie to be a loose woman. She had always been a fighter than a lover in all the years he had known her. She made it clear that she hated his guts back then. But the economy is tough for a newly release inmate. The blonde probably picked up a new line of business. She did call him out of the blue before he recruited her to help with clean-up.</p><p>“Fuck you, Reiner.” An angry look crossed the petite woman’s usually stoic features. Reiner must have spoken his thoughts out loud again. His third foot-in-mouth moment of the night.</p><p>Helplessly, he chased after her as quickly as he could muster with the stick between his legs as she stormed out of the room and stomped her way to the kitchen to grab her things.</p><p>“Why did I even bother?” She breathed through her teeth.</p><p>He held her from behind to stop her from leaving. Dropping to his knees, he pleaded in desperation. “I promise I won’t say anymore shit. Please,” he cried as she glared down at him, arms crossed on her chest, “Please stay. I really need you tonight.” He was going to tell her that he didn’t care if she was a whore, but he thought better and stopped himself from making more verbal faux pas.</p><p>The staring contest lasted for another good minute before she finally dropped her arms to her side.</p><p>“Unhanded me.” She ordered. He relented. She strolled back toward the bedroom and he followed her like a puppy.</p><p>Her fingers brushed against the light switch, leaving only the glow from the lamps on the nightstands to fill the room. Reiner closed the door as he entered, secluding them from the rest of the flat.</p><p>Annie turned towards him; her half-lidded eyes looks sultry under the dim lighting. She pointed at his muscle tee, “Take it off.” He ripped his shirt over his head like his life depended on it.</p><p>She absorbed the sight in front of her—broad shoulders, muscular arms, hard pecks, washboard abs—this triangular type proportions would fill some women’s fantasy. Not hers though. But Reiner is definitely filling something of hers tonight. Annie swallowed the lump in her throat. Hesitantly, she traced the old scars and fresh bruises that mar his abdominal.</p><p>Reiner felt her cold fingers vibrate against his skin. The boldness from earlier had escaped her. He could hear her soft, uneven breathing through her nose. He sensed a bit of her unease when she eyed him again with an unfamiliar look that almost seem fearful. He reached over to her cool cheeks, feeling her tensed under his warm palms. Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, breaking his one rule of no kissing during non-committal sex.</p><p>Gentle at first, Reiner began to trace the crevice between her soft pink lips with his tongue. She parted her lips, allowing him entry. The robust muscle explored every surface it touched. She tasted like honey and citrus with a hint of menthol. He probed further until their teeth clicked. Her tongue started fighting back as he continued to stroke. Initially timid, eventually she matched his assertiveness as she tilted her head for deeper access.</p><p>Annie’s lashes fluttered open; her frosty blue eyes locked with his warm golden ones. For a second, electricity gripped the two like opposite poles of a magnet. The connection made everything far too intimate, and in unison, they both pulled away, gasping for air.</p><p>Without warning, Reiner lifted her by her thighs. Out of reflex, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her to his bed, and with one hand, he tugged off his pants.</p><p>Annie could see his erected cock peeking through the slit of his boxers, in a quick blink, those were gone too. She stared at the phallic monster in front of her. Annie wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it was lengthy and thick, matching the owner’s six-foot plus frame. Annie wondered if it would fit or if it’ll rip her in half. Anxiety gathered at the pit of her stomach when she recalled her last and only sexual encounter, which was rather unpleasant. Before she could think any further, Reiner leaned forward and gnawed on her neck, leaving a huge red mark on her throat as he mauled her like a bear.</p><p>The said bear-man slipped his hands under her shirt and began rolling up the hem. His erection found its way through one of the leg holes of her shorts. It brushed against her wet folds with no barrier hindering full flesh contact. Reiner’s dick twitched when he realized that Annie was honest about being sans-panty.</p><p>With a quick flip of his wrists, he finally freed the girls. Enjoying their newfound freedom, they bounced and jiggled without restraint. Reiner sat up to roll the rest of her shirt over her head. Without a pause, he quickly untied her pants, stripping her completely bare. The cool air left goosebumps on her pale skin.</p><p>Taking in the heavenly vision beneath him, Reiner never thought in his lifetime that he would witness Annie like this—complete naked and vulnerable under his body. Her arms crept close to cover her chest, but he pinned them to the side of her head as he greedily drank the sight of her whole. He wants this image engraved in his memory forever.</p><p>Annie certainly filled out these last several years. Hidden under her baggy clothing, her round perky breasts were larger than he initially anticipated. Her hips had become more developed and fuller. Though still tone and lightly muscular, she had softened a lot since he had last saw her. Her flaxen shoulder-length hair loosened during the tussle, forming a halo around her head. Eyes averted away from his smoldering gaze as a blush crawled up her face. Reiner also never expect Annie to look so demure while having the length of his cock rest on her belly. It awoken something dark and primal in him.</p><p>Releasing her wrists, he took a breast in his hand. So soft and pliable, he squeezed and molded it, tracing her pink areola with his thumb while occasionally flicking the pointed peak. A small gasp escaped from her lips as he pinched her harden nipple. He can feel her violent heartbeats drumming against her chest as he maneuvered the mound in his large palm. His lips connected with hers again. His other hand slowly traced the invisible line down her middle. Starting from the valley of her breasts, bisecting through her abs, into her small belly button, down to the nub that is her clit, and into the wet folds of her cunt. He rubbed against the latter two areas as her body thrusted upwards in response.</p><p>“Keep going,” she whimpered between their lips. The fingers from one of her hands found their way to his hair, lightly raking his scalp with her nails, leaving a soothing, tingling sensation. Her other hand was less gentle as her nails dug hard into his shoulder, leaving small red crescents on their wake.</p><p>Pulling away from her soft puckered lips, his mouth found their way to her other tit. He began sucking as he took her nipple in his mouth. He swirls the harden point with his tongue and nibbled. She gasped loudly when he bit down, marking his territory. A groan escaped from her lips when he released her, leaving a strand of saliva from breast to his lips. She shivered without the warmth of his body to shield her from the chilled air.</p><p>Sitting upward, Reiner spread open Annie’s legs, bending them from either side of her so he could get a better view. She was completely drenched as more cloudy fluids oozed from her pink opening, dripping down her taint and forming a puddle behind her on his sheet. Reiner had never been so turned on. He looked over to see Annie hiding her redden face with her hand. Cute was not a usual term to describe tough, mean Annie, but Reiner found her so adorable at the moment, and fucking sexy. Too sexy. He wanted to pound her hard right then and there. However, her seemingly lack of experience made him worried that she was still a virgin and he didn’t want to ruin this for her.</p><p>Gingerly, he stuck his large index finger between her wet folds. Not eliciting any reaction, he had his middle finger join in on the fun. This time he wiggled and curled his fingers while simultaneously circling her clit with his thumb. He heard soft moans escape her lips, beckoning him to continue. Taking that as a sign to insert a third finger, this time he spread them and twisted his wrist around so that her can prepare her for his length and girth. She arched her back and made a humming noise.</p><p>Seeing that she seemed ready to take him in, Reiner reached over to grab a condom from his nightstand.</p><p>“No.” She stopped him from his track.</p><p>His heart sank, expecting her to call it quits. Despite his lustful exterior, he would respect her wishes if she did not want to continue. In the back of his mind, he knew Annie was just there teasing him. Maybe actual vaginal sex scared her. He should just angrily finish himself off as to not get blue balls.</p><p>He tried to move off her, but her arms latched around him.</p><p>“I want it raw.” She whispered erotically, eyeing him through her heavy lids.</p><p>“S-seriously?” He tried not to sound too enthusiastic, failing miserably as a little pre-cum bubbled from his member. She gave a small nod.</p><p>Sitting back up again, he hooked the inside of his elbows underneath her knees, hands gripping on her thighs. Not giving her another moment to change her mind, he positioned himself right at her opening. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his bulbous head into her cunt. He wanted to watch her so that he can gage his movements to allow her time to adjust, but Annie just feels so good against him, so tight and hot. Her juices made it nice and easy for him to slip in. He gritted his teeth as he drove a little deeper and quicker until he heard her cried out, “Wait!” He was already half dick deep.</p><p>“You’re too big!” she cried out.</p><p>A pang of guilt kicked Reiner in the gut as he witnessed the grimace on Annie’s face, small beads of tears on her lashes. She fisted the sheets next to her as droplets of sweat coated her body. Her chest rose and fell, heaving as she gasped for air. Her breathing came out rapid and uneven.</p><p>“It’ll feel good really soon. Promise.” He cooed as he kissed her inner thigh. His thumb gently caressed her clit to ease the pain between her legs. Little by little, she began to relax.</p><p>When she signaled him to continue again, he made sure that he was a lot gentler this time. Slowly easing in and pausing when she needed a break. It took a lot of self-control as Annie felt too fucking good, especially without a latex barrier in between them. He can feel every crevice and ridge in the inside of her as the walls reverberated against him. Every noise and hiccup Annie made he could feel it down there too.</p><p>Completely submerged into her cave, he waited until she was ready this time. She nodded. He pulled out slowly, his dick emerged glistening, completely coated by her juices. Nearly fully out, he thrust back into her hard. Then he pulled out again. And back in. Out again. In. Out. In. He grunted, slamming hard into her with each thrust, taking full control of the rhythm, creating a song made of a ‘<em>slick’</em> followed by a grunt and occasionally an “<em>ahh</em>”.</p><p>Their skin started to red in contact. Wanting to touch more of her, he leaned forward, closer and closer as he continued to ram her pussy, not missing a beat. His fingers crawled up her smooth legs to the base of her flat stomach back up her bouncing boobs, until he’s back on top of her.</p><p>“Does it feel good now, Annie?” He whispered. His hot breath tickled her ear.</p><p>“Don’t… stop.” she moaned, eyes closed, fully immersed in the motions.</p><p>His hands slid erratically up and down her body, taking in the sensation of all her curves and taut skin as he continues to thrust. His lips attacked her face starting from the bridge of her nose leaving a wet trail to the corner of her lips.</p><p>Annie arched her hips upwards to match his velocity. Her short breaths hitched on the base of her throat. She swung her legs to wrap around him for more access, while her nails dug deep into his back.</p><p>Reiner felt like he’s getting really close to coming. His lips captured Annie’s—sucking, tugging, pulling, nipping. Caught in a trance, his hands enclosed around her neck. The pad of his thumb brushed against an invisible scar and pushed hard on her rapid pulse. His grip tightened as he edged closer to climax. Sensing her airway constricting, Annie clawed at Reiner’s hands, but he did not let go.</p><p>“Rei—” She choked. He groaned loudly, thinking that she as calling his name out of ecstasy.</p><p>Not wanting to join the fate of the last woman Reiner fucked, she unhooked one of her legs and with a swift kick, she flipped them until she was on top. The change in position seemed to wake her companion from his subconscious murderous intent.</p><p>With Annie on top, Reiner found her movements agonizingly slow. He did like the view though. She hovered over him with her arms outstretched on his wide chest, legs bent on either side of him as she rode him. Her lips were swollen from the number he did on them. Her twins looked tantalizing in that angle and he has a clear view of his cock impaling her. His hands made their way to her round firm butt. He squeezed those cheeks tightly, feeling like he had neglected an important part of her body.</p><p>“Faster,” he cried out, but a playful smirk crawled on her face as she continued her slow ministration. Annie sensually dragged out each thrust and teasing Reiner with her stretched moans.</p><p>No longer able to take the torture, Reiner lifted her wrists. To keep her balance, Annie clenched on to his member with her core. The sudden tug almost made Reiner shoot off right then and there. With a lot of restraint, he placed one of her hands down to her pink pearl and the other on her breast, while he grabbed hold of her hips. Putting her multitasking skills to work, her fingers rubbed her nether nub while her other hand pinched her nipple as she simultaneously bobbed on his cock.</p><p>Seeing Annie’s hair matted to her flushed face as she made lewd noises while touching herself brought Reiner to the edge. Clenching tightly on her hips, hard enough to draw bruises, he plowed into her in lightspeed as he growled her name, “Annie, Annie! Fuck! Annie, I’m cumming!”</p><p>She also screamed but her words were incomprehensible and scrambled except for “come,” “inside” and “me.” Her body shook, her toes curled, and she goes limp. Reiner felt her walls milking him as his head hit her ceiling over and over again. With one final pump, he released his hot load into his friend without a second thought.</p><p>So much semen than he thought possible gushed out of him, overflowing from her hole. He held her close when he finished. He stayed inside of her until he eventually became flaccid and naturally slipped out. More of his seeds spilled from between her legs, creating a mess on the sheet.</p><p>Nerves still tingling with sensitivity, Reiner shivered from waves of aftershocks. It had been awhile since he had this kind of intense reaction. Sex with strangers just didn’t give him as much pleasure as this no-strings fuck with Annie.</p><p>Perhaps still high from their shared intimacy, Reiner found Annie very beautiful bathed in afterglow. He pressed his lip lightly against her forehead, something he normally wouldn’t do to someone he was not romantically attached to. Annie was fast asleep curled up next to him on the right, while Bertholdt laid next to him on the left. Reiner followed their lead as he allowed himself to drift off after their night of activity.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I can’t believe my first smut is in this fandom with this pairing. LOL. Hope you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun writing this and I know it’s a little OOC but hopefully it gets better in the upcoming chapters. The funny thing is that I only planned on maybe 2 and half smut scenes for this fic, but after this chapter I ended up adding a lot more, like, a total of about 9 and a half. Then I had to add more plot. My outline started around 5 or 6 pages but now it’s 8 and still growing.</p><p><b>IMPORTANT:</b> I have about 13 chapters written down for this fic so far (estimating about 40 total), I think I might be hitting a block and need to take a hiatus to clean up some of these chapters and continue building up my reservoir. Some of the chapter I put together needed a lot of work fixing and I write really slow. I’ve actually have been working on this every day since mid-October. My b-day is in January so I’ve decided to give myself some time off from this fic. I’m going to try to do some fan art for this and hopefully get a cover art down by the time I return. In the meantime, stay safe, everyone. My IG and twitter accounts are linked on my profile.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First of all, thank you to everyone who had commented, reviewed, subscribed, favorited, gave kudos, and read this fic. You are all super awesome. I didn’t think many people were going to read this fic. Secondly, I updated some of the tags to this fic. There’s some dark topics. I’ll try to put out warnings for certain chapters but be cautious if something might upset you. There will be more tags when I think of them.</p><p><b>Warning—Sexual Content.</b> I promise you that this is not just a smut fic but there is a plot. I don’t know why I wrote two smutty chapters back-to-back. I think I was on a row back in October/November.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reiner woke up in his empty bed to the low rumblings of the washing machine. Still groggy, he stumbled into the shower absentmindedly wondering about his houseguest. It took him ten minutes under the cool running water to recall the events from last night. It took another five to relieve his erection. By the time Reiner was done with the bathroom, the rumblings changed into the soft hums of the dryer.</p><p>He flipped on the lights of the living room, half expecting to find Annie on his couch; however, the blonde was nowhere in sight. Frantically looking around his apartment, he caught wisps of smoke outside of his kitchen window.</p><p>Leaning out of the windowsill above the sink, he spotted the petite woman perched on the wiry steps of his fire escape. The waning moon illuminated her in a hauntingly silvery light, not unlike that of a ghost. She combed through her damp hair with her fingers. His white dress shirt shallowed most of her form with a hint of purple emerging from her neck. Her eyes were glued to the dark sky as she puffed on her cigarette.</p><p>“What are you doing out there?” Reiner inquired, before adding with slight concern, “You’ll catch a cold.”</p><p>Annie took a slow drag before releasing the smoke into the crisp morning air. “I’m waiting for the sunrise,” she said matter-of-factly.  </p><p>Her heavy-lidded blue eyes met his golden ones, “I’m borrowing this,” in reference to his shirt, “until my laundry is done.”</p><p>“That’s fine. I don’t need it right now.”  </p><p>In silence saved for the moans of the wind, the two continued observing the navy-blue sky. Reiner’s eyes slowly drifted over to Annie. There were so many questions left unanswered. The vision of her felt so surreal that Reiner wondered if he was still dreaming—if last night had just been a tryst with his left hand. After the Bertholdt situation, he can no longer trust his reality.</p><p>Bertholdt.</p><p>A bitter ache scorched within his chest while recalling the memory of his fallen comrade. <em>‘We found her at last, Bertholdt,’</em> he thought back to his best friend’s dying wish.</p><p>Feeling Reiner’s sun-colored eyes burning into her, Annie broke her concentration. “What?” She glared back with ferocity.</p><p>Unfazed, the man with the fractured reality responded, “You don’t know how hard I searched for you these past four years. Everyone told me to give up and go home, but I stayed.”</p><p>He didn’t mention that it was under the behest of Bertholdt’s last breath and that he had also stopped looking for her in the past few months. Searching for Annie was like trying to find a Schrodinger needle in a hypothetical haystack. “There was no trace of you anywhere. It’s like you’ve never existed.”</p><p>Annie lowered her sharp gaze introspectively, “Zeke and them all went home except for you, huh?” She inhaled the tobacco stick between her fingers before releasing the smoke through her nostrils like a dragon.</p><p>She had always known that she was just a cog in a bigger machine, but it still hurt to acknowledge that most of her comrades, beside her former childhood rival, had abandoned her for dead in this hellhole country. A needling itch tickled her eyes before growing more prevalent and spreading wider. She blinked, lifting her head upwards, fighting back the emotions. Her jaw tightened as she struggled to conceal her disappointment. She preoccupied herself by sucking on the cigarette again.</p><p>“So, about last night,” Reiner decided to change the subject after witnessing Annie’s crestfallen expression, “do you do that often?”</p><p>Irritated, Annie retorted, “If you are asking whether or not I am like that woman you murdered, the answer is no. I am not for sale.”</p><p>“Actually, it’s kinda the opposite,” Reiner teased. “Seeing how I did most of the work, I thought you were a virgin.”</p><p>Annie snarled. “I thought you like submissive girls.”</p><p>Reiner laughed, “Don’t tell me I’m your first.”</p><p>“You wish,” the woman took another puff of her cigarette. “I had one or two men before to you,” she spat, almost as if it was an unsavory confession.</p><p>The two allowed silence to fill their space again. The blue sky had lightened significantly. A peak of orange broke through the monochromatic duvet of the night.</p><p>“So… do you want to go for round two?”</p><p>Annie whipped her head back so fast. “Not if you’re going to criticize my technique or choke me out.”</p><p>“How do you expect to get better without practice?” Reiner gave her a cheeky grin.</p><p>She glared at him, taking one long final drag of her cigarette. The stick disintegrated between her fingers. She nipped the butt, releasing it to the street below.</p><p>“Are you going to make me breakfast?” Annie asked as she stood up from the steps.</p><p>Reiner sighed. No one can fault him for not trying.</p><p>He opened the backdoor for her. The muscular man also offered her a hand, but she did not accept it. He walked over to the counter to set the electronic water kettle and fished for a frying pan in one of the wooden cabinets. When he turned back around, he finds his dress shirt crumbled on the floor and Annie waltzing by him completely naked.</p><p>Leaning on the back of the loveseat, she turned to face him, boobs out and the lower half of her body hidden behind the chair. She beckoned him over with her finger.</p><p>Forget about breakfast, Annie looks fucking delicious.</p><p>Reiner striped as he made his way into the living room. By the time he was in front of the couch, Annie sat waiting for him on her folded knees. She patted the spot next to her, indicating where she wanted him. Purposefully rebelling, he crawled on top of her instead. Forgetting who he was dealing with, Annie easily shoved him over to where she wanted him, earning him a fresh bruise on his chest.</p><p>“Hands behind your head,” she instructed as she climbed on top of him, hovering slightly above the reach of his erection. Reiner gave her a hard stare but decided against challenging her… for now.</p><p>Annie revealed the skinny tie she had hidden in her hands. She must have found it when she was looking for a shirt to borrow.</p><p>Reiner got up close and personal with Annie’s breasts as she leaned towards him to bind his wrists. He licked her harden pink nipple, before rubbing his face between the valley of her supple breasts, blowing out revving noises between his lips. She got a hold of his sunflower hair and pulled his head back until they met eye to eye. Reiner noticed a disapproving frown plastered on her lips, but it was not every day that he gets to motorboat Annie. He responded by bucking his hips upwards until his hard member brushed her entrance.</p><p>“You know, I can just leave you here, like this,” she reached for his shaft, “all tied up and alone,” she gave him a pump, triggering a groan from the bound man.</p><p>“Fine, fine. You win,” his voice was a bit hoarse.</p><p>She loosened her grip on him. Her fingers found their way to his chiseled cheek bone before taking hold of his squared chin. Finally able to get a closer examination at her companion, Annie noticed how much Reiner had matured over the years. Losing much of his youthful chub, he looks like a completely different person—definitely more handsomely rugged and less like a childish jock. His long, thick lashes brushed against his tired eyes as he looked up at her. Being a whole foot shorter than her rival when standing upright, Annie liked their current position.</p><p>They had never been that close, both physically and relationship-wise. Even before infiltrating Paradis’ military school, they had always butted head during their training back in Liberio. If it weren’t for Bertholdt’s intervention, the two would have ripped each other into shreds. So, it surprised Annie earlier when Reiner announced that he was the only one who searched for her when she was taken. The concept was so foreign to her that she couldn’t accept it.</p><p>She turned his face slightly from left to right. “This is new,” she said, referring to his stubbles.</p><p>“I should get rid of it.”</p><p>“No,” she responded quicker than intended. “I think it makes you look…” she paused contemplatively, eyes never leaving his face, “…quite attractive,” her voice rasped. A small blush accompanied her confession.</p><p>Refusing to look him straight in the eyes after that, she pressed her lips around his mouth, tracing his beard with slow kisses. The short prickly hair tickled her oral erogenous zone, and her arousal grew by the second. He parted his lips for her. She took this opportunity to taste him—sucking and licking just by the edge of his mouth before working up the courage for boldness. He reminded her of a fresh brew and winter pines. The curious appendage delved farther into him. He slacked his jaw, more than happy to support her exploration. He knew she was a quick learner when he felt her tongue stroke against his. Not wanting to let her have all the fun, he petted and caressed her in return. This dance continued for a little bit before she pulled away from him, licking saliva from his nude lips before completely separating.</p><p>“You have an oral fixation, don’t you?” Sometimes Reiner’s mouth is his own worst enemy. If he was mute, Annie could pretend that he was someone different and fucking him would be more enjoyable. She wanted to shove a sock in his pie hole, but she did like sucking on his lips.</p><p>“Shut up.” she smacked his forehead, pushing his head backwards again before proceeding with her ministrations.</p><p>She planted her lips on his hard jaw. Then she lowered her mouth, licking his Adam’s apple, before settling her lips on his clavicle. She gnawed and sucked on his collarbone, purposefully scraping her teeth against his thin skin, a clear vengeance from last night.</p><p>Her small hand circled his nipple like an eagle stalking its prey. Then she struck, plucking at the point, rolling the peak between her thumb and pointer finger. Reiner flexed his peck, making it bounce (his favorite party trick), successfully distracting Annie.</p><p>Aroused, her juices rained down on him. His cock had grown so much larger that it began to poke at her wet folds. This entire time, Annie had her back arch as she stood on her knee, maintaining a short enough distance that Reiner found unbearable. He wasn’t sure how much longer he can handle this. His fingers itched and his whole body ached. He wanted nothing more than the union of their lower halves as she rides him in ecstasy.</p><p>“P-please, Annie,” he stuttered, “I need you to ride me like how Jean’s mom rode that horse the night he was conceived.”</p><p>Reiner caught a rare instance of her smile.</p><p>“Are you sure you are ready for me, big boy?”</p><p>Reiner nodded, baring his clenched teeth. His sweaty body began to shake with distress.</p><p>Annie widened her legs, setting the tip of his penis right at her opening. Her wet lips drooled on the phallus, making it slippery and prime for intrusion. Without further warning, she sat on him hard.</p><p>Still acclimated from their most recent activity, Annie found this time already more pleasurable. Not realizing that her eyes had been closed, she opened them to find Reiner’s soul leave his body. Hands still bound behind his head, he sat rigid with blank eyes. Not waiting for his reaction, she lifted herself from his cock slowly.</p><p>Then she roughly plunged down on him again.</p><p>Until last night, she did not expect his big dick would feel so good inside of her, not that she would admit that to him openly. His shape molded into her so completely, scratching an itch she did not know she had. It took a little bit time to adjust but after that her mind was in complete rapture.</p><p>Moans escaped from her lips without her consent as she continued to bounce on his cock. She rolled her hips forward every time when she lifted, grinding her clit against Reiner’s Adonis belt for extra stimulation. For balance, she squeezed her hands on his shoulders. Slowly her elbows began to bend, and their nipples kissed. Soon their bodies pressed entirely against each other.</p><p>She felt Reiner’s hot breath in the shell of her ear as he started to match her thrust. She raised her head to look at him. His smoldering golden eyes staring back at her. He looked radiant, like he was reborn as some holy entity.</p><p>Her fingers crawled up his arms until they entwined with his digits. She met his lips with bruising kisses and he happily obliged. In between the moans, their lips mended together with their tongues violently stitching them closer.</p><p>Suddenly, Annie realized that the tie keeping Reiner’s wrists together was nowhere to be found. He gave her a lazy smirk upon her revelation.</p><p>Annie halted, straightening her back as she sat up again, anticipating Reiner’s retaliation with him still deep inside of her. Instead, he spanned his arms across the top of the sofa, waiting for her to make the first move. Too stubborn to lose, the two found themselves in a silent standoff.</p><p>Reiner was the first to break the stalemate as he gave Annie a hard thrust, which propelled her in the air with upward momentum. She was only connected by their slick genitals as her body flew. Gravity pulls her back down again before she got any farther. She gasped out loud as she glided smoothly back down Reiner’s cock. Her heart drummed with excitement.</p><p>“You like that?” Reiner panted.</p><p>Annie nodded.</p><p>He jolted his hips again. And again. And again.</p><p>Annie bounced on his dick like a seesaw. More and more of their fluids spilled at the insertion point as Reiner continued to ram her hungry cunt. She could feel the tip of his cock rub against her cervix. A reddish pink flush spread on her chest and she felt really close to coming. She bit down on her fingers to stop herself from screaming but to no avail.</p><p>Squeezing her eyes shut, she cried, “Oh god, Reiner!”</p><p>Her eyes shot open in disbelief that she allowed his name to escape from her. Expecting Reiner to have a cocky look on his face, Annie was surprised to see his irises darken as he breathed rapidly through his nose. He stared at her with an unreadable expression. His hands gradually moved to her thighs as he continued to penetrate her. Reiner had Annie figured out. He adjusted their angle slightly and hit a bundle of nerves that caused her undoing.</p><p>Biting down on her lower lip, Annie tried hard to stop herself from screaming again, but like hiccups, noises spilled from her. “Haa! Fuck! Fuck! Ahh! Mhm. Rei-mm! Yes!”</p><p>Tears leaked down her face as her eyes crossed with dilated pupils. Her body suddenly tensed. She collapsed onto her lover and proceeded to ride out that wave while her insides convulsed. Reiner wrapped his arms around her, while maintaining a slower rhythm.</p><p>Annie laid on Reiner’s chest as she tried to catch her breath. Shivers ran up her spine. Her nerves felt raw and frayed from the orgasm.</p><p>She stayed like that for a minute before realizing that the dick inside of her is still pretty solid.</p><p>With her arms folded on his chest, she laid flat against him. Resting her head on her hands, she hoarsely asked, “Still not done yet?”</p><p>“I want to try a different position.” Reiner wagged his eyebrows as he cupped her round ass.</p><p>Annie’s ears perk out of curiously. Within a minute, she caught her breath and got back on her knee, unsheathing Reiner from inside, immediately recovering from her previous state.</p><p>Reiner frowned at the loss of her heat encasing his dick, now glossy from her juices.</p><p>He got on the floor as he positioned Annie to stand in front of him with her hands pushing down on the seat of the chair, arms straight, legs spread wide, back curled upwards, and her butt in the air towards him.</p><p>She turned her head to glare at him. “No funny business.”</p><p>“Don’t worry,” he reassured, “It’s not what you think,” he said as he smacked her tight ass. That earned him another dirty look.</p><p>He was really close to coming earlier, but he resisted because he wanted more from his paramour. He knew that as soon as he released, it was game over.</p><p>Seeing Annie with her back arch and her rear pointing towards him, it nearly sent him over the edge. This. This moment was what so many could only dream of, but right now, he’s the only one who get to enjoy this. He wants to savory every second of this because there’s no predicting when his next chance would be. With feather-like touches, he traced down the bumps of her spine to the curve of her ass. Then he grabbed her cheeks and gingerly pried them apart, desperately wanting to know all of her secrets.</p><p>Annie’s face turned beet red when she felt cool air hit between the valley of her butt crack. This was somehow more embarrassing than all the other times Reiner had gawked at her body. She doesn’t know why she was putting so much trust in this man. She simply just wanted to be fucked well and with those desires she made a bit of an oversight.</p><p>“One day,” Reiner murmured longingly at her puckered anus.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Finally, Reiner aligned himself to her slit. His slick cock was already drawn to her widen hole, which was wet again. However, gearing up for the initial push, he accidentally brushed against her rim, triggering a loud gasp. Still sensitive from her previous climax, Annie squirted a little.</p><p>Even though he found her squirting to be quite hot, he still immediately apologized, trying to come off as sincere because it was truly unintentional, and he didn’t want her to leave him hanging. She gave him a pass because she really wanted sex.</p><p>He slowly guided himself into her vaginal passage for the second time, which was still really tight for someone who just got stretched out by his large member. Her back muscles tightened like a cat on the prowl as he entered. When he was fully inside of her, his fingers latched on to her hips. Pulling out partially, he rammed back into her hard. Annie threw her head back from the sensation. A shock of electricity shot up to her spine—a different, but still pleasurable, sensation.</p><p>As Reiner continued his rhythmic penetration, progressively speeding with each push, Annie felt more pressure built from within her core. She thought she was done last time, but now her vision began to blur, her limbs tingled, and she was ready to climax again. She fisted the leather upholstery as she joined his pace, grinding against his cock with much gusto. His heavy balls slapped her vagina at each thrust. The stimulation got her dripping wet, making her consider a possible affinity for spanking.</p><p>Reiner noticed how Annie had improved from the night before. Her hips were no longer stiff and instead moved like water as she rocked her lithe body into his jackhammer. It’s like his dick had corrupted her, unlocking something from within.</p><p>His hands liberated from her hips as they explored other parts of her sex-starved body. He caught one of her breasts in motion. One hand squeezed and molded the dense, jiggling mammary, while the other circled her exposed clit. Annie lamented in pleasure. Her tongue slipped out of her mouth; her lips had long given up on pressing together.</p><p>His finger ran back and forth from her sensitive bud to the intersection of where his cock met her pussy. Moving up on her body, Reiner created a wet trail to her navel, lightly fingering her belly button. His other hand glided down her torso, pressing at the region between her belly button and clit. His rough hand palmed his length through her flesh, creating more friction between her walls and his cock.</p><p>Annie’s lips quivered as she cried out. Her arms shook, unsure if they can remain in that position any longer as she braced herself for a tsunami. She rocked faster and harder against him.</p><p>He loved see Annie contorted into different shapes and angles because of him. And he didn’t need to pay her.</p><p>Reiner was so close. His hands return to her hips, slamming into her hard, quickening the tempo. Her ass bounced as it drummed on his lower abdominal, making wet slap sounds to accompany their cries and groans. He loved how her cheeks jiggled as he pounded furiously into her.</p><p>Reiner roared after a few more pumps. Then he came down hard. He can feel her inner walls tugging on him, enclosing on to his member like a trap. “I’m going to fill you up, Annie!” He shouted on the top of his lungs. She did not protest.</p><p>His hot semen poured into her, filling up her belly with his essence. The warm sensation triggered Annie to follow shortly after. Creamy fluids gushed from between their legs, raining on to the brown leather loveseat, soaking into the rug, and down the wooden floor underneath the chair.</p><p>Reiner dropped to his knees, taking his partner down with him. She slouched on his lap as she set her head on a sofa cushion. He draped himself on top of her and held her close. Their sweaty, flushed skin sticking them together like velcro. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he panted for oxygen. Reiner peeked over at Annie. In her struggle to catch her breath, she neglected to conceal her smile of satisfaction. Through his own smile, he planted a kiss on the back of her neck with no objections.</p><p>They stay like that for a while before gearing up for their second shower that morning.</p><hr/><p>The sun fully emerged from its starry blanket, beaming its rays through the slated window.</p><p>The sizzling sound of oil on a hot skillet and the smell of turkey bacon fills the air. Biting into her toast, Annie observed the scene front of her as she lazily leaned back against her chair by the small square dining table.</p><p>Reiner juggled between panfrying bacon on the burning electric stove and scrambling raw eggs with a fork in a ceramic bowl, all while wearing nothing saved for a black apron on the behest of Annie. The corner of her lips twitched upwards as she admired the claw marks she left on his back from the night prior. She wondered if they sting as his back muscles and shoulder blades shifted under the taut skin. Her gaze dropped lower to his rock-hard cheeks, still pink from their couch escapades.</p><p>Annie was back in the borrowed dress shirt that she abandoned earlier, haphazardly buttoned together. Still reeling from the tingling sensation between her loins, she crossed then uncrossed her legs. She felt bits of him slushing inside of her after their shower. Hopefully, there was enough genetic material to yield some testing later.</p><p>Reiner dropped a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs in front of her and joined the table. Annie eyed the purple bruise on his clavicle that matched the one on her neck. She does not say a word as she sipped on her orange juice. Laundry is done and she had no plans to stay longer than breakfast.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Nothing against Jean’s mom. She seems like a nice lady even though she shares hobbies with Catherine the Great. </p><p>I like the first part of the smut scene, but I am not too happy with the second part. It reads like a gross hentai.</p><p>I got some health things to deal with back in January (nothing serious, but I’m still dealing with it), so I didn’t write as much as I wanted to. Updates are not going to be very fast, but I’ll try to post at least one chapter a month. I also said I was going to do a cover art for this. Started on something but I ended up drawing Annie in a cheerleader costume instead. A pencil sketch of it is on my Twitter. I’m in the process of coloring it on Photoshop, but I am bad with Photoshop so it’s taking forever.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After that unorthodox visit from Annie (not that he is complaining), Reiner did some necessary house cleaning. Needless to say, the living room required a lot of rigorous scrubbing and mopping. The couch that was previously covered in bodily fluids, was now soaked in fabric cleaner. The strong twenty-three-year-old broke a sweat as he applied some elbow grease on the upholstery. He did not expect some of the stains to be so stubborn. Looking down at the circular black rug on the floor, now speckled in white, he determined that he had always hated that ugly rug and proceeded to roll it up for disposal.</p>
<p>While he was changing the sheets and setting the bed, something small careened off the nightstand. He picked the foreign object from the floor. It was a simple watch with brown leather straps. Reiner did not recall if it belongs to Annie—he remembered more of what she was <em>not</em> wearing than what she had on her wrist—but, logically, it must have been hers because it did not belong to him.</p>
<p>He sent her a picture of the watch, and she immediately texted him her address.</p>
<p>It took most of the morning and into the afternoon, but Reiner was finally done cleaning. Looking at the time, he hopped in his car and headed out to Annie’s location.</p>
<p>As he drove down closer to the neighborhood, he noticed the roads were getting more mismanaged. Potholes appeared more frequent and harder to avoid. The streets were cleared of foot traffic saved for hooded figures hidden in dark corners. Multitude of graffiti sprayed over boarded up windows of storefronts as small churches began to turn up on every other intersection. The strong smell of weed permeated the air and seeped through the vents of his car.</p>
<p>Finally, Reiner arrived at a dilapidated brick building next to an open lot with cars parked unsystematically on top of gravel and overgrown patches of grass. He spotted a silver two-door sedan with an open window in the mix.</p>
<p>As he approached the car, he noticed a familiar hamper full of clothes along with a large sack and some other items shoved haphazardly into the backseat.</p>
<p>“This is where you are staying at?” Reiner asked when he spied the petite blonde. Annie had her feet crossed on the dashboard as she reclined into the driver’s seat.</p>
<p>The woman shrugged, “For now.”</p>
<p>She sat up and leaned against the window, “Do you want a tour?”</p>
<hr/>
<p>The place met Reiner’s expectations from what he assumed it would look like when he was peering from the outside. He found himself entering an Eli Roth horror movie. The floors were tacky, like the old kind of tacky, where the bottom of your shoes would stick to the floor with each step and make a smacking noise like that of chewing gum. It was dimly lit with a constant sound of buzzing from faulty wiring. Yellowing wallpaper with water stains peeled from the wall, yearning for an escape from this health code nightmare. The stench of wet mold hung in the thick air. Breathing too deeply will result in an itching, burning sensation that worms its way from your facial orifices, creeping down to your throat and then to your lungs while you scratch holes in your chest, trying to exorcise the ant colonies scurrying under your skin.</p>
<p>As they passed through common area, a thick fog assaulted them. Through the cloud, Reiner could make out three figures and an array of needles, spoons, rubber bands, powder, syrups, and other questionable items scattered across the coffee table. He couldn’t figure out what was causing the smoke. Two of the characters laid on the couch, seemingly stoned. The third one, a toothless man with dark, sunken eyes, grinned at them as they brushed by him. Annie pretty much ignored him, but Reiner got a little spooked. Subconsciously, he grabbed Annie’s hand. What was truly surprising was that she didn’t pull away.</p>
<p>The floorboards squeaked beneath them as she guided him down the dark dank hallway. There was a rusty basement sink in the middle of the hall next to a splintering door that was probably to the bathroom. The lock didn’t look secure.</p>
<p>Another man leered at her when she walked by before he eyed Reiner.</p>
<p>“Hey, pretty lady, why don’t you and I have a go at it after you’re done with him?”</p>
<p>Reiner balled his fisted, ready to smash this scumbag’s head into the dry wall. Uncharacteristically, Annie squeezed his hand and gave Reiner a look to ignore the man.</p>
<p>They stepped in front of a door with faded numbers and Annie pulled out a key.</p>
<p>The room was modest, to put it mildly. A bunk bed on one side and a desk on the opposite wall with barely any space to walk between. Scattered on the desk were rolls of tattered newspapers. The blinds on the one window were shredded, giving no illusion of privacy. Besides the gnat cover cobwebs that decorated the eggshell ceiling, there was nothing much else.</p>
<p>Annie unzipped a small duffle bag that sat on the lower bunk, revealing a sleeping bag from within. Tossing the sleeping bag on top of the decrepit mattress, she sat down with a thud. The mattress swallowed her like quicksand as she sank deeper into it with every second. A cloud of dust swarmed around her, angry that they had been woken from their slumber. Annie wondered if the bed had any springs in it or if it was just filled with beans.</p>
<p>Reiner’s skin crawled thinking about all of the previous tenants on that used that bed. He opted to sit on the creaky wooden desk.</p>
<p>“Don’t have a roommate yet.” Annie said, addressing the emptiness of the room. “Got this room to myself for cheap. They were literally carrying a body out when I got here, so no one wanted this room.” Annie smirked and reassured, “He’d only slept on the top bunk. O.D.ed apparently.”</p>
<p>Reiner swallowed, surveying the room. His eyes landed on the piles of newspapers sitting on the desk. Nearly all of them were turned to the Classifieds section with handmade circles marking the pages. One of the papers was flipped to a crossword puzzle that was partially filled before an angry Godzilla-like scribble attacked it.</p>
<p>“I don’t think it’s that safe in this area.” Reiner gave Annie a concerned look.</p>
<p>“No shit, sherlock. It’s not like I have another place to go.” Annie kicked the floor in defeat. She touched her lips with two fingers out of habit.</p>
<p>Silence filled the air for a brief moment before her companion asked, “So, what’s your plan next?”</p>
<p>The twenty-two-year-old looked small when she shrugged. “Dunno. As much as a crap hole this place is, I can’t really afford it much longer. It’s hard to find a job with a criminal record,” she confessed. “Maybe I can go seduce myself a sugar daddy,” she smiled mirthlessly, staring down at her sneakers as they idly picked on the chipped plastic floor tiles.</p>
<p>“Don’t do that.”</p>
<p>She narrowed her eyes at Reiner. “Why? ‘Cause I’m not sexy enough?”</p>
<p>“You’re plenty sexy, Annie. Trust me.” He held her gaze for a second, but then she broke it by looking at the floor again.</p>
<p>“That’s because you’re easy.” She said quietly, shoving her hands in the pocket of her hoodie.</p>
<p>Reiner wasn’t sure what to make of that.</p>
<p>He studied her for a bit. Who was this person in front of him? Gone was the angry girl from his childhood, and in her place was a woman broken by an institution which, through the excuse of protection to an idea, punished those outside their mold.</p>
<p>“You were half right the other day,” she started again. “Before you called, I was just about to rob an electronic store.” There was a slight quaver in her voice.</p>
<p>She wasn’t embarrassed about confessing her would-be crime as much as she was about admitting her desperation. She knew she hit rock bottom when she fucked Reiner two and a half times in a span of twelve hours, although, it was less regret than it was shame for her lack of self-control for agreeing to a second round—not that she would deny herself the pleasure had she been given the option to re-do this morning. She convinced herself that it was for data gathering.</p>
<p>“Well,” Reiner mulled the words in his head before suggesting hesitantly, “you can stay with me.”</p>
<p>“Why? So, I can service you every night?” she scoffed, pulling out a cigarette from her pocket.</p>
<p>Despite expecting Annie to take everything he says the wrong way, Reiner leaped up from the desk and shouted defensively, “It’s not like that! I’m worried about you, y’know.”</p>
<p>“It was a joke,” she said unsmiling.</p>
<p>She focused on the cigarette rolling between her fingers when she spoke again, “I can’t pay you rent right now.”</p>
<p>“That’s fine. I’m not asking you to.” Reiner watched Annie’s blue irises swung from left to right in consideration to his offer. “And,” Reiner hoped that he would not regret the next words that spilled from his lips, “I know a place that is hiring.”</p>
<p>Annie’s icy eyes lit up, watching Reiner intensely like a hawk.</p>
<p>“I work in a nightclub and I’m close with the owner. They just so happen to be looking for a weekend bartender. It’s not much, but it should get you by.” Before Annie could jump for joy (she wouldn’t), Reiner added, “You need to go in for an interview, so it’s not a guarantee.”</p>
<p>“I’ll do it.” Annie leaped from the bed, bumping her knees against Reiner’s.</p>
<p>“Do what?”</p>
<p>“I’ll do the interview. And I’ll move into your apartment. For now. Until I can get back on my feet.”</p>
<p>She stood there for a moment, eyeing the man in front of her. “Thanks,” she mumbled, barely audible, as if it was the hardest thing to say. A light blush crept to her face. She immediately turned to pack the sleeping bag up. She hastily shoved it into the duffle bag, making as much noise as possible as a means of distraction.</p>
<p>Reiner stared at Annie’s back, understanding that that would be the only verbal gratitude he will receive from her for now.</p>
<p>When Annie threw open the door with the misshapen duffle bag slung over her shoulders, the man from earlier was already there waiting for her.</p>
<p>With his grimy fingers and greenish, fungus-covered nails, he waved a fifty-dollar bill in front of her face. “How much are you charging?” The stink of stale booze tainted his breath. “I’m sure I can afford you.”</p>
<p>Annie launched her foot right into the man’s groin without warning. A loud crack of a broken pelvis reverberated down the hall. Reiner winced vicariously. That lowlife deserved it though.</p>
<p>“Fuck! You bitch!” he screamed as he doubled over. Tears and snots leaked from his face as he sobbed on the ground.</p>
<p>Annie walked ahead, disappearing behind a cloud of smoke. Reiner stepped over the balled-up man.</p>
<p>Under the flickering lights, the narrow hallway looked more daunting without Annie guiding him through. Reiner gulped, quickening his steps as his made his way into the dense fog. The air was more polluted than before, making it impossible to see anything beyond his own nose. He tried to make a run for the door, but bony fingers suddenly latched on to his wrist. The pallid ghost face from earlier came into his view. He was so close that Reiner noticed small freckles splattered around his nose and on his cheeks.</p>
<p><em>“Do you really think you can just start over after all the things you have done?”</em> he whistled through his gums. Those hollowed eyes looked directly into Reiner soul.</p>
<p>Reiner ripped the husk of a man away from him and threw him aside as he raced to the exit.</p>
<p>By her car with a lit cigarette between her lips, Annie raised an eyebrow to see Reiner’s panicked expression as he bolted out.</p>
<p>The door slammed behind him. Reiner hopes to never set foot into that godforsaken building again.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Annie woke up before dusk to Reiner rubbing at her elbow. She untangled herself from his sleeping form, stretching her sore body. She glanced over to her new bad habit. Eyes closed and relaxed, chiseled chest rising and falling through light breaths, he looks almost harmless.</p>
<p>Throwing on some clothes, she sauntered over to the backdoor with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in her hand. The chill autumn air hit her as she climbed on to the fire escape. Morning dew clung on her skin and hair as she smoked in silence—most of the city slept still around her. Her eyes glued to the starless sky, waiting for the rebirth of the day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to all you wonderful readers! Special thanks to MiceLoveCat for providing a Russian translation of this fic on AO3. </p>
<p>The currency value in this fic is equivalent to U.S. Dollars. </p>
<p>This chapter is a little short, but the next chapter will be over twice the length.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Returning from her morning jog, Annie found Reiner sitting on the couch with a piping hot brew in his hand.</p>
<p>“I made coffee,” he murmured with his attention on the television.</p>
<p>Annie wiped the sweat from her brows as she made her to way to the invigorating scent in the kitchen. With her own cup of hot java, she joined Reiner on the loveseat. The last time they were both on here was when they were fucking each other’s brains out. Annie had to give Reiner credit for the clean-up job he did afterwards. They made quite a mess from what she remembered. The steam tickled her nose as she sipped her coffee.</p>
<p>“Got plans today?”</p>
<p>Annie was awakened from her musing by the question. “Shower.”</p>
<p>He sighed, giving her an exasperated look, “Anything else?”</p>
<p>“Why?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.</p>
<p>“Do you want to go to the mall?” Annie stared stonily at Reiner like he had just asked if she wanted to Naruto-run to Area 51. Seeing her lack of response, he elaborated, “To get some clothes for your interview?”</p>
<p>Annie thought about the items in her inventory and realized that the man had a point. She gave him a curt nod and chugged down the rest of her drink.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Reiner convinced Annie to ride with him for their trip. This was the first time she had been in his SUV and she marveled at the cleanliness of his car, especially in comparison to her own. To be fair, she had been living in it for a few days.</p>
<p>Annie didn’t remember Reiner to be such a neat freak, but, if she was honest, she never really tried to get to know him back then. She couldn’t stand his cowardly two-faced gut during their younger years. Due their mutual stubbornness and Reiner’s newfound popularity in school, they constantly butted heads. Bertholdt played mediator between the two; perhaps Annie would have gotten along better with the tall boy if he wasn’t attached to Reiner like a set of conjoined twins.</p>
<p>Leaning against the window, she watched the skyline shrink smaller and smaller as they drove to the suburbs. The city of Trost had changed a lot these last four years. So many new infrastructures had developed, replacing many of the old familiar ones. Neighbors that were once deemed dangerous had been gentrified into vanilla yuppie nests. Annie had a really hard time navigating the city when she was first released, tossed out into the streets with no one to rely on but herself. Teenage Annie would be so disgusted if she discovered that future Annie found solace in her longtime enemy, Reiner Braun.</p>
<p>Annie zoned out for the rest of the ride.</p>
<p>“Earth to Annie. Are you listening?” Reiner shouted into her ear, snapping his finger at her face.</p>
<p> “What?” Annie blinked, annoyed by the disruption to her daydream. She glared at him when he placed both of his hands on her shoulders. She just then realized that they were already in the building.</p>
<p>“I said, if you need money, I can lend you some. But there will be some interest,” Reiner teased with a wink. He said it so casually like a loan shark. He followed up by pointing to a storefront, “you can probably find something decent in that store that would fit your budget.”</p>
<p>Annie nodded, only half paying the attention. The building was a wide as a city block and lit with decorations and flashing lights with mass hordes gathering all around. From where they were standing, she could see three floors littered with shiny stores and bustling people. She thought malls were a dying breed, but it seems like there are still people who enjoy brick and mortar shopping. The plethora of scents, from pretzel to candles to body odor, overwhelmed Annie. The sound of undistinguishable conversations laid on top of screaming children and loud pop music made it worse. She felt a headache approaching on the edge of her skull from the overt sensory simulations.</p>
<p>Annie stood completely catatonic for thirty full seconds, unwittingly absorbing her surroundings. Before letting the rest of that minute slip by, Reiner ushered her into the discount store. “I’ll meet you by the bench right outside in an hour,” he instructed as if he was her guardian, and she was some middle-schooler.</p>
<p>“Thanks, dad,” Annie rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>She was going to protest about how unreasonable and unnecessary it was for her to spend an hour shopping. However, glancing into the store, she concluded that most of that time would be wasted on waiting in long lines and less so for browsing. She sighed loudly as she sauntered in, dragging her feet behind her.</p>
<p>Missing the meeting time by five minutes, Annie exited the store with bags in hand and meandered over the bench. She was already late so there was no point in trying to hurry. Unsurprisingly, Reiner was already there waiting for her with a shopping bag of his own.</p>
<p>When she finally reached him, he handed her the bag.</p>
<p>“You want me to hold your shit for you?” Annie tried to sound unbothered, but salt was present in her tone.</p>
<p>Reiner sighed, “It’s a present for you.”</p>
<p>Raising an eyebrow, Annie took the bag and peered inside, spying a fancy black dress. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she caught sight of the price tag. “What is this for?” she interrogated as if it was a bag full of anthrax.</p>
<p>“We’re getting dinner at the best restaurant the city has to offer.” Reiner announced the surprise.</p>
<p>Annie knitted her brows and stared at him like Bertholdt grew out of his neck.</p>
<p>Already anticipating her confusion, Reiner explained, “I owed you one, remember? At the diner?”</p>
<p>Annie was not expecting him to hold up on his end of the bargain. She waved her own bags around, “I have clothes.”</p>
<p>“You’re trying to look like a patron, not part of the staff.” He sneered with a light chuckle.</p>
<p>Annie clenched her jaw and held her tongue, stopping herself from retaliating to Reiner’s patronizing comment. Sure, there was some truth to his statement. A white dress shirt and a pair of basic slacks probably didn’t fit with the uppity setting. But his words dripped with so much arrogance that she wanted to deck his smug face.</p>
<p>“What do you want from me?” Annie narrowed her eyes, feeling hesitant to accept anything from her former comrade. He’s practically a stranger right now, a voice in the back of her mind reminded her. His giving mood forced her to remain guarded. What he gives, he can sure take in spades.</p>
<p>“It’s a gift,” he responded again as if he was trying to explain why the sky was blue to a young child. “I’m giving you this so that you can look presentable for dinner.” He then questioned with a growing hint of frustration, “Why do you always think there’s something nefarious going on?”</p>
<p>Annie shot him back an icy look. Did he forget that she had helped him cover up a murder a few days prior?</p>
<p>Before she could stew in her conspiracy theories much longer, Reiner grabbed her wrist and dragged her to their next location. She tried to rip off his fingers, but the shopping bags got in the way. He loosened his grip on her arm when they entered a brightly lit salon, with stark white walls and pops of neon pastels for detailing. Annie winced as the intense light burned her retinas. The whole place smelled artificial.</p>
<p>Reiner walked over to the receptionist with Annie still in tow, “Can you get her ready? We have a reservation at Le Chateau tonight.”</p>
<p>The receptionist looked to be in her early twenties, a redhead by choice. Her hair was coifed to that of 1940’s pinup girl. She had on a frilly blouse and a tailored pencil skirt with very strong flowery perfume. By the looks of her attire, Annie could guess the type of clientele this place served.</p>
<p>He handed some cash to the woman then flashed his pearly white smile at her. She reciprocated with a blush. “I’ll pay the rest when I get back,” he winked. Annie rolled her eyes at the exchange.</p>
<p>The woman fanned herself with the photobook in her hand like she was about to pass out. “This should cover everything,” she smiled widely back.</p>
<p>Reiner reached for the bags in Annie’s hand saved for the one he gave her with the fancy dress. “I’ll be back to check on you later,” he assured and with that he left Annie in the store with his fangirl.</p>
<p>The woman at the desk guided Annie to a chair in front of a mirror.</p>
<p>“Your boyfriend is so hot,” she gushed. She wasn’t even trying to hide it.</p>
<p>Annie glared at her through the mirror, “He’s not my boyfriend.”</p>
<p>The woman’s face perked up. “Really? Is he single?”</p>
<p>Annie ignored her until the clerk finally gave up and returned to the front desk.</p>
<p>The hair stylist and nail technician came shortly after. The stylist trimmed Annie’s split ends and gave her a blowout. When that was done, he pinned part of her hair back, leaving some hair to cover her forehead with the rest pulled away from her face and draping her neck. Simultaneously, the nail tech shaped and clean her nails, finishing them off with a blush color polish, much to Annie’s displeasure. She was glad that they were multitasking to expedite on the length of time of her torture.</p>
<p>While they were working their magic, Annie stared at the television screen in front of her, sneering at the vapid celebrity gossip show was on. It’s not something that she would choose to watch normally but it did keep her preoccupied from the worker bees that buzzed around her. The volume was loud enough for her to pick up bits and pieces over the music.</p>
<p>The beautiful socialite with the golden hair and shining blue eyes showed up on screen again. Annie started recognizing her name, Historia Reiss, since it has been everywhere nowadays. She had been making front cover on most of the tabloids with her scandal of being a young unwed mother and the constant debates on whether her child could be her heir given that the father’s origin is unknown. Apparently, she ascended to the throne while Annie was gone and had been reigning since. There’s something about that woman that looked so familiar.</p>
<p>Annie found some of the footages odd. In one of the clips, it seemed like the queen was trying to get away from something, not realizing that she was secretly filmed, and when her bodyguards showed up, she looked visibly aggravated.</p>
<p>“I heard that she was also a bastard until they legitimized her as a ploy to get rid of the mad king.” The stylist chimed in.</p>
<p>“Like father, like daughter,” tsked the makeup artist that Annie had not noticed before.</p>
<p>Annie dodged the brush that was heading for her nose. “I don’t want to look like a clown.”</p>
<p>The woman rolled her eye and clicked her tongue, probably not the first time she had gotten that remark. “Calm down, hun. I’ll give you a natural look.”</p>
<p>Annie was a bit doubtful, but she sat still on her seat. The makeup artist lightly powdered and dusted her face, with just enough make up to hide some imperfections and accentuate her features. She finished the look with mascara and a red lipstick.</p>
<p>“What do you think?”</p>
<p>Annie looked at her reflection and was genuinely surprised as how much better she looked with a few touchups. Although she was not a fan of lipstick, the color worked really well on her and somehow made her cool blue eyes stand out. She might have to reconsider her stance on makeup.</p>
<p>“Guess you have this job for a reason.” That was the closest Annie had to a compliment.</p>
<p>The woman accepted the comment and walked away.</p>
<p>As Annie checked out her makeover on mirror, she felt an uncontrollable shiver crawl up her back. On the corner of the reflective glass, she caught a tall, lean silhouette staring dead at her through the store window. She immediately swiveled around but by the time she was able to get a good look through the plexiglass, the mysterious figure was no longer there. Annie wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her.</p>
<p>The receptionist led her to a backroom to change. Looking at the dress that Reiner had bought her and the mini makeover that he also sponsored, Annie felt like an escort. Like a high class one, but still an escort all the same. Since she has received all of this after she bedded him, would that actually make her a hooker? She justified that she did everything on her own accord and that she didn’t get paid, not with cash from Reiner at least.</p>
<p>The dress felt velvety and smooth on her skin. It was similar to what Audrey Hepburn wore on the poster of Breakfast at Tiffany’s with a sweetheart neckline. It surprised Annie how well it fitted her. Either Reiner had been rummaging through her clothes or he had gotten the shape of her body gauged through their sexual rendezvous. Annie chuckled to herself as she imagined Reiner bending over dresses at some hoity toity shop, trying to figure out her size.</p>
<p>Speaking of the devil, when she stepped back to the main area of the salon, Reiner was already there waiting for her. Her breath caught the back of her throat when she saw him in a dark slim suit, tailored to fit him perfectly, with his shiny blond hair gelled back. Somehow that emphasized his warm, luminous eyes, and his stubbily square jaw looked like it could cut. Annie was speechless at how dapper and completely stunning Reiner looked. The receptionist had melted into a pile of goo.</p>
<p>She recalled seeing him bring his tuxedo bag in the car, but she thought he was getting it dry clean. She had no idea that he had the whole day planned out for them.</p>
<p>In the ultimate betrayal, her treacherous feet propelled her towards him before she was mentally prepared. Luckily, he broke the tension first when she approached. She was sure that her mouth was agape and looked like a drooling fool though. Quickly she pulled her lips into a tight line before she could humiliate herself any further.</p>
<p>“Give me a twirl,” he requested, but Annie the mannequin rooted herself to the ground.  </p>
<p>Foreseeing her resistance, he circled her like a shark instead. With his index finger curled on his chin, he eyed the dress on Annie. It contoured her body well, emphasizing the curves and dips all at the right places.</p>
<p>“It looks like it fits you pretty well,” he remarked as he placed his hand on her back to straighten her posture.</p>
<p>Annie crossed her arms, “How did you figure out my size?”</p>
<p>“Well, you’re about the same size as—” He stopped himself. “Um. That’s not going to work.” He pointed at the sneakers on her feet.</p>
<p>They made a quick detour to a shoe store.</p>
<p>Sitting Annie down on one of the benches, Reiner plucked off her tennis shoes and her socks. Snatching a paired of strappy black heels from the shelf, he tried jamming one on to Annie’s foot but realized that they were too small. He grabbed a bigger size to see if they fit better. Reiner got down to one knee as he forced the shoe on to her foot. Annie felt like Cinderella’s stepsister.</p>
<p>“Your feet are kinda big compared to the rest of you.” Reiner just doesn’t know when to keep his comments to himself.</p>
<p>Annie crossed her arms defensively. “I’m sorry that I don’t have baby feet.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.</p>
<p>Reiner sighed, “You’re very far from perfect.”</p>
<p>The small blonde would have kicked him in the face if he hadn’t kept his grip on her ankle. He grinned, enjoying at how easy it was to get under her skin.</p>
<p>“It was a joke. Nobody’s perfect.” He raised his hands in the air, mocking her as he backed away.</p>
<p>Annie leaped on the ground, ready to teach Reiner a lesson. It didn’t matter if they were both in formal wear out in public, she will show him some respect. But she as quickly as she had gotten up, she was even quicker to sit back down once she took her first step. Pain shot up her left foot through her pinkie toe from a pinched nerve.</p>
<p>See Annie struggle, Reiner yanked those off of her, tossing them aside as he reached for a pair of tall, ankle-breaking stilettos.</p>
<p>“Not those.”</p>
<p>He raised an eyebrow at her, bypassing those for some peep toe pumps.</p>
<p>As soon as he got back on his knee, Annie stuck her foot by his face. She purposely wiggled her toes to annoy him. He took hold of her foot and slipped the shoes on. Instead of releasing her foot when he was done, he brushed the back of his hand up against her leg through the slit of her gown in a slow feather-like touch. While his hand set her leg on fire, his gilded eyes captured her attention with smokey intensity. Annie only realized how close they were when his stubbles tickled her between knees and the taste of the woody musk of his cologne frolicked on the tip of her tongue.</p>
<p>Annie found herself lost in the desert within Reiner’s eyes. She could hear the loud drumming of her heart pounding in the cave of her ears. Her dress suddenly felt a lot more constricting around her chest and breathing has gotten a little more difficult. The room temperature went up a few degrees. And she was thirsty. So very thirsty.</p>
<p>She pulled away from his grasp. Getting up from her seat with her back facing him, she took two steps. “These are good,” Annie quickly asserted, trying hard not to sound breathless.</p>
<p>“Are you sure?” His husky voice had become soft and buttery.</p>
<p>Annie bit her lip as butterflies fluttered in her stomach and heat gathered between her thighs. She wanted so badly to straddle Reiner on that bench, tear open his suit, and ride him like a bronco. Public decency be damned.</p>
<p>A lady with a red scarf passed by the store window, shaking Annie from her trance. She was reminded of the redhead from the salon and how easy Reiner seduced her. Almost like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her from above, the flames doused from within her. Disgusted that she had also fallen for his womanizing tactics, she marched over to the checkout lane.</p>
<p>“We have a reservation,” she responded curtly without looking at him.</p>
<p>Reiner followed Annie to the front with the bag of her clothes and shoes that she had abandon. He raised an eyebrow when she pulled out a credit card to pay for the heels.</p>
<hr/>
<p>They drove back to the city for Le Chateau. The drive remained quiet as both were stuck in their own thoughts. Reiner offered Annie his suit jacket as he pulled in front of the restaurant. Annie declined but she immediately regretted it. Goosebumps washed over her exposed skin in the chill late autumn wind once the valet opened her door. Fortunately, the entrance was just a few steps away.</p>
<p>Looking less than graceful in her new heels, she ran for the door. Careless about her surroundings, Annie stepped on an unassuming pebble. The shoes did not offer much support. Her ankle bended slightly and she lost her balance.</p>
<p>Big, warm hands gripped her biceps, preventing her from making a scene by faceplanting on to the pavement. Once she stabilized, Reiner tucked her hand under his arm. Annie scowled, pretending to be disgusted, but she was secretly grateful for the heat he was generating. She subconsciously leaned closer into him as they entered the building.</p>
<p>Annie looked around her in awe. The place was so much more impressive than she had imagined.</p>
<p>In the wide lobby, men dress like butlers greeted guests, opened doors and checked coats. The ceiling was replaced by a giant aquarium of exotic saltwater fishes, giving the whole place a serene blue glow. Slightly beyond the lobby was a small golden bar where a bunch of impeccably dressed nouveau riche and bourgeoisie socialized. The host lead them down a short hallway on the right to their table in the grand ballroom.</p>
<p>The aptly named grand ballroom was huge and exquisite. Giant crystal chandelier hung from the high vaulted ceiling, bathing the room in a warm radiance. Geometric relief carved high above throughout the walls depicting the legend of Heracles and his twelve labors. There were also scenes from the Argonauts and, shockingly, depictions of him murdering his first wife and children—though not many were seated near that portion of the carving. Seating was not an issue though as there were hundreds of tables that soldiered the room. In the center of it all is an indented dance floor full of couples waltzing around a small jazz band that included some brass, some strings, a woodblock, and a piano. New singers would rotate for their turn to croon over the standing microphone in hourly intervals.</p>
<p>They perambulated the room before finally reaching their small circular table. Annie looked over to Reiner as she took her seat across from him. He seemed a bit preoccupied with his eyes darting around the place as if he was searching for something or someone.</p>
<p>Annie’s eyes crossed as she browsed the menu. Confusion washed over her as she stared the nonsensical strings of letters. Then it occurred to her that she was looking at a foreign language. Jumbled letters swam in her vision until she clapped the book shut.</p>
<p>Reiner flipped through the wine list. “What type of wine do you like?”</p>
<p>“I don’t drink,” Annie responded as she played with one of the golden three-pronged forks on the table.</p>
<p>“C’mon, Annie. Just for tonight,” He tried to persuade her as she distracted herself with the instrument on the table. “And that’s a salad fork.”</p>
<p>Annie gave him an unimpressed look, dropping the fork from her hand and refusing to budge from her alcohol-free position.</p>
<p>The server arrived to take their order. Annie pointed to an item on the menu that she kind of recognized. Reiner placed his order like a natural as French rolled off his tongue. He also ordered a scotch neat. The server wrapped up by asking if they were celebrating a special occasion.</p>
<p>Reiner grabbed Annie’s hand, which was not much of a reach given their intimate setting. Before she could protest, he announced to the waiter that it was their anniversary. The server congratulated them and left with their orders.</p>
<p>Annie, mouth agape, wrenched her hand from his.</p>
<p>“They have the best desserts here only for special occasions,” he whispered, grinning like a child who had gotten away with stealing a chocolate chip cookie from the cookie jar.</p>
<p>She pursed her lips and rested her chin on her palm with her elbow on the table as she studied the man across from her. Over these four years, Annie wondered what kind of person Reiner had become. She reluctantly admitted that physically, he aged like fine wine, which she found to be both upsetting and intriguing upon their reunion. But he could fool the world with his refine outer appearance, inside, he was still dangerous man-child. Except now, there seems to be some insanity added to the mix. Not a great combination.</p>
<p>Annoyed by her own fixation on Reiner, she switched her attention to the dancefloor as couples in elegant outfits spun around like ballerinas in a music box. They moved in ways that Annie could only dream of. She allowed herself to be lost in the moment—in the music, under the lights, and amid the movements of the dancers.</p>
<p>Reiner studied his companion. She slouched with poor posture leaning into her arm on the table. It was pretty obvious that she did not get proper etiquette training or learned table manners. To be fair, it’s not like they trained child soldiers to be graceful. He had to put in so many extra hours to fit with upper society. Just for <em>her</em>. A bitter tasted crossed his tongue. He sipped his scotch.</p>
<p>Annie certainly cleaned up well, this diamond in the rough. Her sapphire blue eyes popped under the soft paint, while her ruby red lips looked tantalizing. The loose fringes frame her face nicely, taking emphasis away from her nose, while the rest of the wavy ash blonde tresses fell pass her shoulders, looking silken to touch. She seemed unaware of the ample amount of cleavage she was flashing him from the way she was sitting—the table had given her a boost.</p>
<p>Reiner down the rest of his drink before getting up from his seat to stand before Annie, blocking her from the view of the dancing couples. One hand behind his back, he bowed lightly, offering her his other hand. Her eyes widen and she leaned back into her chair. She looked surprised and genuinely confused by his gesture.</p>
<p>“Would you like to dance?”</p>
<p>A light blush crept on her face as she diverted her eyes and mumbled, “Don’t know how.”</p>
<p>“I’ll lead you. It’s not that hard to waltz.” There was that grin again.</p>
<p>Looking hard at Reiner and then staring back longingly at the dancers behind him, Annie decided to take him up on his offer.</p>
<p>Reiner held the small manicure fingers in his hand. They look deceivingly gentle, but he knew all of the damage they can inflict. His back still ached from the scratches she left behind.  </p>
<p>The piano started and the singer changed by the time they got to the platform.</p>
<p><em>You must remember this<br/></em> <em>A kiss is just a kiss<br/></em> <em>A sigh is just a sigh</em><br/><em>The fundamental things apply<br/></em> <em>As time goes by…</em></p>
<p>With her heels on, the top of Annie’s head grazed his chin in her less than graceful stride. Reiner placed her hand on his shoulders and encased the other in his palm. He lowered his hand down to the juncture between her waist and hip. Then he took a step forward. With her head down watching her feet, she stumbled backward to avoid getting crushed under Reiner’s pointed dress shoes.</p>
<p>“Chin up and straighten your back,” he instructed, “When you feel my leg move forward, you match that by stepping back.”</p>
<p>Annie was eager to learn. She picked up the steps quickly as if they were Muay Thai stances. Reiner applauded her dexterity, lauding her with comments of approval. The corner of her lips budged upwards before breaking into a full-blown smile. Somehow this reminded her of her younger days, training with her father back home and his infrequent praises when she performed a move correctly.</p>
<p>The coolness of her eyes melted and sparkled in pools of cerulean. Her hair and skin glimmered under the light of the chandelier as a warm blush formed on her cheeks. Reiner witnessed Annie transform in front of his eyes and he began to understand why Bertholdt was so enthralled by this woman. The rare smile that she possessed looked beautiful on her lips. He felt the sudden urge to touch and kiss her.</p>
<p>He dipped her backwards before twirling her until her back was pressed against his chest. She handled each transition smoothly like she was made for dancing. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck as their hips sway to the beat. Burying his nose into her ashen tresses coated in hairspray, he felt a long scar hidden on her scalp. Beyond the artificial scents, there was some familiar and comforting about her that Reiner wanted to latch on to and seal away for his to keep only.</p>
<p>The tempo dropped with a new song and most of the couples moved into a slow dance. Reiner lips hovered around Annie’s temple. She spun back around to face him. His big hands firmly enclosed around her narrow waist, yanking her close. Annie held her hands in front of her to brace herself from smashing into his broad chest. They were barely dancing now as heat emanated from their bodies. He watched her with dark, glossy eyes then he leaned forward with puckered lips. She turned her face away from him.</p>
<p>“The food is ready,” Annie stated.</p>
<p>Reiner freed her waist and she immediately took a step back from him.</p>
<p>Dejected, he ordered another scotch on his way back to the table.</p>
<p>Returning to seat, Annie poured her attention to the plate in front of her. She was wrong. She had no idea what she had order. It looked more like a decorative piece than something edible. Glancing across the table at the veal on her dance partner’s plate, she mentally kicked herself for being too prideful to ask for help in deciphering the menu. Reiner busied himself, downing the glass of scotch. Annie wondered if she could trade plates with him without him noticing. That thought ended when he slammed his glass on the table.</p>
<p>Pricking the thing with her fork, the curious woman took a cautious bite. It was not bad, whatever it was. But for the price and the portion, not bad does not cut it. Annie had already planned the rest of her shoeless evening in front of the T.V. with a cup of instant noodle in her hand. She loomed over the fence of regret.</p>
<p>Reiner flagged the waiter for his third glass.</p>
<p>“You should slow down.”</p>
<p>Reiner just flashed his teeth back at her, running his fingers through his hair. His cheeks have a tinged of pink but not enough to reveal his drunken state. He finished his third glass on an empty stomach.</p>
<p>Annie observed his struggle with the knife. Reiner managed to carve a piece out, but practically gave up on the next bite.</p>
<p>Perhaps it was pity, but more so self-interest, Annie scooted her chair right next to his. Grabbing one of the pieces of bread on the table, she shoved it into her male companion’s mouth. “Eat this,” she commanded as she worked on his meal with the knife.</p>
<p>Seeing Reiner incapacitated, Annie guided the fork to his mouth. After he chew and swallow, he opened his mouth for the next bite; Annie complied.  </p>
<p>“Mind if I try?” Annie finally asked the real question.</p>
<p>Reiner did not agree nor deny her, so she took a bite of the veal. This was the real deal. As soon as the meat touch her tongue, it melted into warm buttery shreds. The flavor exploded in her mouth like a juicy meat grenade. A hint of sweetness poked through the savory flavor. It was moist and fresh but not gamey. Annie wondered if there was a slaughterhouse within the building to produce this experience. Guilt be damned because Annie had never experience something so delicious in her life before. Her mind went into a short haze as she was swallowed by every emotion. Dew formed on her eyes as she crossed her legs, clenching her fists around the fork as she shivered uncontrollably. All that happened in a matter of seconds. She shoved another piece into Reiner’s mouth, a bit resentful that this masterpiece is wasted on a drunk.</p>
<p>Reiner was about to order another glass of scotch. Annie forced a glass of water on him instead. He refused at first, but she squeezed his jaw until his mouth opened and she proceeded to push the glass against his teeth and pour the cool liquid down his throat. He sputtered, shoving the glass away. Fits of cough erupted from his lips. Annie tried to muffle his coughs with a cloth napkin. She did not have a murderous intent though she found Reiner’s vulnerability amusing.</p>
<p>After dinner wrapped up, the server asked if they were ready for their anniversary dessert, which was house specialty crème brulee that night. Annie looked over to her companion, who was completely inebriated at this point, and asked for the dessert to go. The waiter handed them the check and Reiner waved his card at him, not bothering to look. Annie peeped at the exorbitant amount as was glad that the man next to her was sober enough to still remember to pay. She was also glad that she had not suffocated him earlier.</p>
<p>It did not take much effort to convince the valet to hand her the keys. Reiner passed out as soon as he was in the passenger seat.</p>
<p>Annie had to adjust the driver’s seat and mirrors, but first, she lowered the window and lit the cigarette in her mouth. She felt the rush of nicotine streaming through her veins as she pulled on to the highway with wind in her hair.</p>
<p>Today had been quite eventful, Annie reflected. She was curious at the length Reiner went to plan everything and his reasons for today. Sure, he claimed that it was for a promise he made, but Annie suspected that it may not be as simple as it appeared. She would never admit it to his face, but she did enjoy getting pampered, even with all the strangers touching her, and dancing was really fun, even if it was with him. She couldn’t deny that he was a decent partner.</p>
<p>Taking a drag as she sped 85 miles down the highway, she glanced over at the sleeping blond as the name “Historia” slipped from his lips.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The song is from the 1942 movie, Casablanca. The title to this fic is also a reference to that movie before I realized the “S” in Paradis was silent. This story is nothing like that movie though. LOL</p>
<p>Thank you for reading this fic, both interactive and silent readers! You all really motivate me to keep writing this. I have 5 other very different ReiAni fic ideas bouncing around in my head, vying for my attention, and 1 ErwinxAnnie one-shot that might have them all beat. But need to focus on this fic that’s constantly growing and getting longer. </p>
<p>Also a big thank you to my beta reader, one of my RL friend who took the time outside of raising her family to look over this. I will be making some minor clean up in some of the previous chapters.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Without any spoilers, I thought I should upload a chapter this week to mourn the ending of a good manga series. Whether or not you liked the ending, I think we can all agree that that one panel was really weird, so we should all wipe that from our collective memories. 😉😢</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yesterday, Reiner spent most of the day mopey and hungover. The only consolation he had was the chocolate raspberry crème brulee dusted with powder sugar and sprinkled with gold flakes that waited for him in the fridge. Removing the “Happy Anniversary” placard from the caramelized topping, Reiner eagerly scoped a large helping of the sweet custard only for Annie to swoop in and snag the first bite from him. A mischievous glint played in her eyes as she experienced a moment of schadenfreude from his misery.</p>
<p>The following morning Reiner returned to his normal haughty self. He gave Annie a wide grin as soon as she entered the apartment from her morning jog.</p>
<p>“Ready for your interview?” he asked as he took a bite of cereal.</p>
<p>She didn’t answer him. Instead, she joined him on the couch and grabbed a spoonful from the bowl in his hand. Then she stole his mug of coffee and gulped down the hot liquid.</p>
<p>“You didn’t have to take my cup. There’s more in the kitchen.”</p>
<p>Annie ignored him and headed towards the shower. Truth be told, she was anxious. This was her first job interview. Reiner had been giving her pointers and even helped her generate a last-minute resume, which required a lot of fluffing to fill up the page. She was appreciative of him, but her stubbornness and pride prevented her from showing it.</p>
<p>Annie decided to let her hair down for the day as she buttoned up the dress shirt that she bought from the mall. By the time Annie finished readying herself, Reiner was already waiting by the door, tapping his foot impatiently. He ushered her out the door while she zipped up her jacket.</p>
<p>He insisted that they take his car, and for good reason. He had a designated parking spot by the building.</p>
<p>Annie stared at the large windowless two-story white-brick and concrete structure, ironically named Hausfrau. There was a triangle pediment jutting out against the rectangular roof that sat on top ionic columns creating a portico, making this building of sin looking quite stately.</p>
<p>Reiner motioned Annie to follow him through the side entrance. He greeted everyone that they came across and they greeted him back with a surprising level of respect. Surreptitious glances crossed her direction, but her resting bitch face was good deterrent for anyone who tried to approach her. As soon as they rounded a corner, Annie could hear the group gather, shuffling like rats in the dark, gossiping amongst themselves in whispers, not realizing how loudly their voices reverberated against the cement walls. Reiner rolled his eyes as he gave Annie a knowing smirk.</p>
<p>“…Is it just me or does he actually look happy for once?” Annie caught a bit of the conversation before moving further down the hall.</p>
<p>The interior of the building was a lot more colorful and gaudier compared to the pristine outside. A dark red violet coated the walls with black and gold marbling trims. Beams of light placed spaciously apart, one after the other, creating a nauseating strobing effect as you stroll down the red carpeted halls. Every several steps, usually before and after a corner, an accent table with a bowl of something that gave off the appearance of candy buttons sat in front of a slight skewed mirror, which sloped forward against the tall walls. Next to that arrangement was always a giant areca palm tree in a large black stone pot.  </p>
<p>It felt like a labyrinth when they turned another corner. Annie felt a little disoriented as she passed by another funhouse mirror. Suddenly, Reiner stopped in front of a set of maroon double doors with gold handles. He knocked the door to a tune.</p>
<p>Annie couldn’t tell if it was Reiner being his usual obnoxious self or if it was actually a code for something.</p>
<p>The doors swung open, revealing a smiling rotund man with slick back ginger red hair behind a giant mahogany desk on top of a Persian rug. He looked to be in his early to mid 30’s and was dressed like a Silicon Valley CEO—jeans, t-shirt and an open blazer. He doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the décor.</p>
<p>“Reiner, my man!” He exclaimed before noticing Annie standing behind the blond. He stuck his hand out to her, “Flegel Reeves.”  </p>
<p>The small woman assumed that he wanted her to shake his hand. “Annie Leonhardt,” she introduced herself. As soon as she mirrored his motion, he pulled away.</p>
<p>“Too slow!” He laughed like a manic child as if he had made an impressive joke. He then balled his meaty hand into a fist. “Nah, we do fist bumps ‘round here.” He raised that fist, but Annie left him hanging. Now she realized why Reiner probably gets along with this bastard.</p>
<p>Speaking of, she turned her head to see Reiner, arms crossed, leaning against the wall by the door. She was not expecting her flat mate to stay in the room with her like a parent teacher conference.</p>
<p>The office was very spacious, but it felt cramped due to all the junk in it. In fact, aside from the desk, the room looked more like an arcade than a workspace. A bunch of game cabinets littered throughout the room, including a skee-ball and a DDR machine crammed into a corner. There was even a full liquor bar.  </p>
<p>The plump man gestured for Annie to take a seat. He rummaged into his drawer for a pen and a clipboard with her resume attached. Reiner must have prepared it for him in advance. Flegel skimmed through the document looking bored.</p>
<p>“So, what makes you want to work at Hausfrau?” He droned, almost like he was prompted.</p>
<p>“Money.” Annie shrugged. She could almost sense Reiner behind her face palming. “It’ll be a lie if I told you that the tacky atmosphere had really drawn me in.”</p>
<p>Flegel seemed amused. “Trust me, sister. I would not have decorated the building this way if I had a say in things.”</p>
<p>Annie rolled her eyes when he called her <em>sister</em>. Then she noticed the basketball net hanging on the wall behind him, right above his stupid full body portrait. The portrait leered down at her, giving off a predator vibe equal to that of her interviewer.</p>
<p>The interview continued for several minutes with very standard questions as the redhead scribbled on the clipboard.</p>
<p>Flegel flipped the resume over as if he expected something to be written in the back. “You’re cool with this being a Friday to Sunday gig, right?”</p>
<p>“I’ll take what I can get. My options are pretty limited.”</p>
<p>“Explain,” Flegel demanded as he set the clipboard down to show that he had doodled all over her resume. Specifically, he drew a stick figure riding a dinosaur and a very explicit sketch of a woman’s torso.</p>
<p><em>‘Can you file for sexual harassment before you get hired?’</em> Annie thought, somewhat disgusted by the animal in front of her. The real issue was that she really needed this job. <em>‘If he tries anything, I will break his jaw clean off so that he will never eat anything solid again.’</em></p>
<p>“I just got out of prison. I got arrested for beating up a cop,” Annie said it straight, hoping that the man took that as a warning.</p>
<p>He nodded, fingers rubbing his round chin contemplatively like he had been paying attention even though he did not hear a word she had said. “Well, you’re kinda hot in certain angles, like the feisty kind, which I dig. You have a bit of a mouth, but some guys like that.”</p>
<p>Did Reiner lie to her? What is this job really about? Annie crossed her arms and sank into her seat while the man in front of her eyed her up and down like a piece of meat.</p>
<p>Just as she was about to question the legitimacy of the interview, Flegel finally asked, “Do you have any bartending experience?”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>Before anyone could say another word, Annie felt big warm hands squeezing her shoulders.</p>
<p>“Listen, Annie is a really fast learner,” Reiner answered on her behalf. “What she lacks in experience, she makes up for it with diligence.” That second part was a half lie. “She’s really good. Trust me.”</p>
<p>Flegel eyed Reiner and then at Annie, then back at Reiner again. Then he began to giggle. “My man, are you guys…? Is this your…? So that’s why you took this week off.” He paused, raising his arm in the air, “High five, dude.” Reiner humored him.</p>
<p>Annie watched the exchange in confusion. Clearly there was an inside joke there somewhere.</p>
<p>The hefty man stood up from his seat. “She’s that good, huh?” he asked as he leered at her like an object. He licked his lower lips before winking at Reiner. “Look, you’re my best man here, you know. I’ll really consider this. But first,” he looked at his phone, “there’s something I have to take care of.” The ginger left the two blonds in the room as he bolted through the giant doors.</p>
<p>Honestly, after that Annie was perfectly fine if she didn’t get this job. She would rather make minimum wage washing dishes at the back alley of a Chinese restaurant than work for that disgusting man. Flegel Reeves, she concluded, was an ugly bastard. If not for his outward appearance, his personality was definitely the worst type of foul.</p>
<p>Reiner had a different experience entirely, “That went pretty well.”</p>
<p>If that was considered a good interview, Annie wonders how much worse the bad ones were.</p>
<p>While they waited on Flegel’s decision, Reiner took Annie to the front of the building and showed her around. The night staff didn’t start until hours later to prep before the club opens its door to the public at 8:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 9:00 p.m. on the weekend starting with Friday. As they made their way through the building, Annie noticed a few doors down the halls. The doors were spaced far enough from one another to indicate a larger room behind them. They were certainly not linen closets as each was secured by a padlock. Perhaps they were conferencing rooms of some sort since the dance floor was located in the front. The place had heavy surveillance; there were cameras around every corner and by every door. There were definitely other things going on here besides dancing.</p>
<p>They finally left the maze through a small unassuming door. They walked through another hallway; this one was a lot wider and painted in a bright ultramarine blue with white trims. Annie looked behind her and noticed the door they exit from was designed to look like a wall panel, hidden in plain sight behind another leafy plant.</p>
<p>Annie nearly bumped into Reiner when she turned back around. Her jaw dropped when she saw the grandeur of the dance space.</p>
<p>Unlike the back rooms, the front was designed with Influencers in mind. A loft-like balcony jutted from one side, creating a mezzanine floor. A platform formed right below for the guest D.J. to perform. An enormous holographic disco ball dropped in the middle of the room, bouncing light off to the blue, white and gray. The floor had pockets of glass where rainbow lights beam through. Stereos scattered throughout the room. Glass walls divided parts of the area for VIPs and bottle service. A bar was located on each corner of the room with a smaller one in the center for beer and premade drinks and another full bar upstairs. There were 2 sets of brightly lit, selfie-friendly restrooms with an attendant situated there the whole night.</p>
<p>Reiner pointed at the bar closest to the front and told Annie that she will be working at that area if she gets hired. A small lobby with a coat check buffered that section from the front entrance.</p>
<p>“What do you think?” he asked with a grin. He knew perfectly well that Annie was impressed by the expression she wore when they entered the room.</p>
<p>“It less of an eye sore compared to the maze in the back.” She tried to play it cool as she absorbed her surroundings. Then it dawned on her, “I don’t know anything about making drinks.”</p>
<p>“Someone will train you. And it’ll probably be me.” Reiner pinched her cheek laughing. Annie shoved his hand away. “It’s not like people come here for the drinks anyways,” he noted.</p>
<p>Annie pulled out a cigarette and pursed it between her lips. She flipped her silver lighter, but Reiner stopped her before she could light it.</p>
<p>“You can’t smoke in here,” he gestured to the sprinklers above them.</p>
<p>Annie clicked her tongue and gave Reiner an annoyed glare as she stuck the cigarette back into the pack. He picked up a lollipop from the candy bowl on the granite counter and handed it to her. She was about to ask what he meant by that when someone barreled through the hidden door.</p>
<p>“Stop him!” A disjointed voice called from behind the wall.</p>
<p>Reiner immediately ran towards the man and tried to tackle him, but the scraggly man dodged from the attack. Instead, he veered towards Annie. Her small stature convinced him that she was an easier target. He wrapped his arm around her neck as he stuck the muzzle of his gun at her temple.</p>
<p>An older plump man, who was balding in the center, pushed through the door. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a pink dress shirt that matched the handkerchief of his breast pocket, looking like a mafia don. He was definitely more fitting of the setting compared to Flegel, who stood right behind him. The man also had a long, fat scar running across his neck.</p>
<p>“Back off,” the gunman screamed, “or I’ll blow this bitch’s head off.”</p>
<p>Annie rolled her eyes. She glanced over to Reiner, who dropped his panicked expression to a clandestine smirk once he caught sight of her calm demeanor when they made eye contact.</p>
<p>Without any hesitation, Annie kicked backwards at the man’s ankle while simultaneously pushing his wrist upwards in a swift motion. She ducked forward while grabbing the same wrist, disarming the man as she flipped him to the ground, all in a matter of milliseconds. Reiner took over from that point, placing his foot against the man’s neck, pinning him in place.</p>
<p>“See. I told you she’s good.” Reiner grinned, slapping Annie in the back for a job well done. She actually didn’t mind it for once.</p>
<p>“Dad, I interviewed her earlier. I think she’ll fit right in.” Flegel chimed.</p>
<p>Dimo Reeves, a known mobster with a financial empire spanning through every city of Paradis, rubbed his chin in consideration. He was clearly impressed by Annie’s martial art display. Before he had a chance to speak, a younger man with a pompadour appeared out of nowhere and whispered something into the Dimo’s ear. The smile dropped from his face.</p>
<p>“Although I did enjoy your artful demonstration, I am not planning on hiring an arsonist at this time.”</p>
<p>Annie’s blood ran cold, and a dark look crossed her face. “What?” she spat venomously.</p>
<p>“You heard me,” Dimo’s voice boomed in the large empty room, “Your prison records showed that you were committed for arson and what’s worse is that you’re a liar.” The large man gathered an audience of the early staff.</p>
<p>Reiner’s eyes widened, he was completely flabbergasted, “There must be a mistake.” The scraggly man on the ground was restrained by some goons as Reiner removed his foot from his neck.</p>
<p>“I got arrested for beating up a rat,” she insisted angrily. Now, she will have to take care of another rat she thought, shooting daggers towards the pompadour man. The guy was one tacky Hawaiian shirt away from looking like a 90’s TV gangster.</p>
<p>“Are you saying that my trusted employee here made a mistake?” Dimo’s voice bellowed as he continued his accusations. This man dominated the conversation, leaving no room for argument. Annie felt like a child again, being reprimanded by her father for something she did not do.</p>
<p>“Yes, but you obviously don’t believe me.”</p>
<p>Frustrated, Annie stormed off to the coat check for her jacket. Reiner chased after her.</p>
<p>“Where are you going?” His worried brows knitted together.</p>
<p>Annie slipped a cigarette between her lips. “It’s too stuffy here. I’m leaving. I’m not going to stand around and let some stranger berate me.”</p>
<p>He opened his mouth, but she silenced him with a wave. “Don’t worry about me. I know how mass transits work.”</p>
<p>She didn’t wait for his reply when she walked out the door, lighting her cigarette on the way out. As soon as she crossed the street to the next block, she whipped out her phone, quickly dialing a number with her thumb.</p>
<p>It rang twice before someone picked up on the other end.</p>
<p>“You have some goddamn explaining to do,” she bemoaned into the receiver.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wonder who that could possibly be? Dun Dun DUUUUNN.</p>
<p>As always, thank you for your support! I made a random reference for a YouTuber who likes to torture his sims.</p>
<p><b>Editing Note</b> – Made some spelling changes to their names. Leonhart is now spelled Leonhardt. Bertholdt shorten is now Bertl. I am still making changes to the older chapters, so the spelling isn’t consistent currently.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cool air nipped Annie’s skin while she rested against the frosted metal railing. On the open rooftop of a downtown forty stories high-rise, free from any obstructions, she observed the sun sinking before her. It bathed the city in a pink, orange, and purple glow as it bid farewell for the night. Annie tapped against the railing with the cigarette in her hand, occasionally taking a small puff. The dissonant creak of a rusty metal door alerted her as stealthy footsteps gradually made their way over to her direction.</p><p>"This better be important," an irritable voice crept from behind.</p><p>Annie finished her cigarette before she turned and faced a man who was only a few inches taller than her. "You're a piece of shit, Levi."</p><p>"What's new?" he sneered.</p><p>Resting at 5’3” with a dark undercut and impeccably pale skin, Levi Ackermann’s deceivingly youthful appearance hid his actual age. He meticulously curated his attire with a pastel turtleneck and pressed khaki-colored trouser under his tan trench coat to appear more mature. Even then, he came off looking like a business intern fresh out of college with daddy’s money. The only giveaway to his age was his worldly eyes that looked like they hate your mother and a scowl that could not give less fucks if he tried. It must have been good genetics or secret Botox injections that freed him from any settling forehead wrinkles. Annie didn’t think it was possible to meet someone as stoic as her, but then Levi sprung into her life—a request she had not asked for.</p><p>"You wanted me to get information from Reiner but then you go and send a rat to mess with my records,” accused the seething younger woman, “You decided on a back story and now you change that without telling me. Make up your damn mind."</p><p>Levi already looked disinterested with the conversation. "Correction. Hange thought it was a good idea to give you a convoluted back story like some second-rate Disney garbage,” he pontificated. “More so, I don’t see any inaccuracies with your current records.”</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes at his semantics. She had to agree with Hange though. Convoluted or not, the truth about her being alive and in comatose for the last several years would bring more questions and suspicious. Why would the government keep her alive under taxpayer’s money for so long if not for information gathering?</p><p>“You're trying to get a job. I have expressed many times that I don't want you working on anything BUT the mission I gave you. We want you to get information on his connection with Marley, be it the government or the terrorists.” Levi stood with his back straight like a soldier as he spoke. His hawk-like eyes were trained on the blonde. “Besides, we pay you more than you deserve for the mediocre work you have been giving us."</p><p>“You’ve got to be kidding,” Annie scoffed. “Your meager stipend covers jack shit. I was literally holed up in a drug den. I was going to rob an Apple store for fuck’s sake.”</p><p>“Maybe you should stop buying shoes then,” Levi retorted.</p><p>Annie gritted her teeth, wishing that she hadn’t finished her cigarette earlier so that there was something to distract her from her boiling rage. “It was one pair of fucking heels,” she spat through her teeth, getting into Levi’s face with her own while fighting hard to quash her mounting anger. The shoes weren’t even that comfortable. She was just forced to buy them get away from Reiner’s seduction. It’s not like this guy would understand.</p><p>Despite the unpleasant company, it was good to meet someone in the eyes without straining her neck for once. In an exaggerated motion, she dropped her sight to Levi’s feet. “You can have them, though. They’ll fit your small ass feet.”</p><p>What she failed to mention was Reiner’s comment on her feet being a bit big, which still irked her more than she cared to admit. Annie absentmindedly wondered if she and Levi had the same shoe size.</p><p>A frown permanently etched on Levi’s face for the rest of the conversation. He was used to people making comments about his height, but somehow Annie managed to take a jab at his pride with his shoe size. Levi looked like he was about to backhand her on the spot. Sensing a dark, ominous cloud hovering from above, Annie decided to take that as a minor victory and backed off from pushing him further.</p><p>"All I’m saying is that if you want me to do this properly, I need more resources.” The woman steered the conversation back on course, “Reiner is a lot smarter than he looks. He’s going to be suspicious if I have a miraculous source of income, especially after that stupid prison story.”</p><p>Uncharacteristically patient, Annie tried to reason with Levi without coming off as annoyed even though there was a chance that her cover might have already been blown because of this dipshit. “Also, I can keep an eye on him since he works there. There’s definitely more to the place than meets the eye and your one rat won’t be able to cover everything."</p><p>Levi shook his head and waved his hand dismissively, "Fine. Keep a record of all of your earnings for my review. I want every cent documented.”</p><p>Annie frowned. <em>‘Yuck! Bookkeeping,’</em> she thought. Leave it to Levi to ruin the fun of everything.</p><p>The unfiltered look of disgust on her face gave him a tick of satisfaction. “We’ll halt on the per diem,” he continued.</p><p>“Well, no. I still need that,” Annie quickly inserted.</p><p>“Aren’t you being a greedy little pig?”</p><p>“The bar thing is just a part-time job, Levi. Everything cost money. If you want me to prioritize the mission, you need to keep paying me.” If Levi thinks she’s a fool that he could just step on with his tiny feet, then he had another thing coming. He needed to understand that there was no such thing as a free meal in this economy.</p><p>“Need I remind you that you are in no position to negotiate.” But he relented after a brief moment of consideration, “You will be paid as I see fit. That means I want quality information. Document all of your spending as well. I need receipts.” His lips curled slightly when he added, “And cut back on frivolous spending like ridiculously expensive shoes.”</p><p>Annie soured at his reminder.</p><p>“Updates?" His voice clapped, back to business as usual.</p><p>“Were the DNA samples from the other day not enough for you?” She glanced away and checked her nails.</p><p>“That was just a ton of splooge. I could’ve sent a pig to do that job. Oh wait,” he mocked, poking at her forehead, “I guess I did.”</p><p>Annie bit her tongue, fighting the urge to respond back to his insult. “So original,” she grumbled under her breath before clearing her throat. “He’s part of some criminal organization with the Reeves, but I guess you figured that part already with your source.” Then she remembered the event that kickstarted this, “And he murdered a prostitute at Motel Maria last week.”</p><p>"That’s all?” Levi clicked his tongue, brushing off her statement as if she told him that Reiner was jaywalking. “You seem to have forgotten that it’s your job to get information to me. I guess we’ve been paying you to spread your legs. I'm sure a whore like you enjoyed every second. You can’t just send us a bucket of semen and pat yourself on the back for a job well done."</p><p>Annie was done playing nice with this tiny condescending asshole. “Jealous much? I’m sure if you asked nicely, he’ll fuck you too.”</p><p>Levi’s patience with her disintegrated. He lunged at her. She dodged and tried to throw a fist at his face, but he slipped from her aim and spun behind her like a top. He grappled her wrist, twisting it to her back and pinning her hard against the horizontal bars while pushing his foot down on the back of her knee. That foot was a lot bigger than she had initially surmised. Afterwards, he tugged on her wrist upwards until she cried out in pain. He pressed himself so close to her that she can feel his breathing on her neck.</p><p>“Don’t test me, Leonhardt,” he warned.</p><p>Pain shot from her shoulder blade when she struggled under his iron grasp. Annie tried to let out a chuckle as she gritted through her teeth, "Wow, Levi, you kinky bastard. Does this turn you on… dominating a poor defenseless girl?"</p><p>“You? Defenseless?” he huffed. Then Levi looked at her with disgust, "As if I would subjugate myself to a dirty traitor like you." He released her as if touching her was an insult to his hands.</p><p>Annie scoffed loudly, rubbing her sore wrist and rotating her shoulders back, "Yea, right. You prefer the sneak attacks.” She had been waiting for the opportunity to confront him, “Admit it. You and one of your cowardly men assaulted me when I was unconscious. I heard you two."</p><p>“You wish. I would never devalue myself with the likes of you.” His cool charcoal eyes bored down at her with disinterest. “I merely gave instructions. We saved your life, you ungrateful bitch.” Levi explained his reinterpretation of the event with such effortless suavity that Annie might consider thanking him if she had lesser will. Instead, it angered her more.</p><p>“Saved my life by fucking me when I was in a coma? That’s rich,” she seethed. “Saved my life so that you can torture me endlessly when I wake up. Yes, I should be fucking grateful.”</p><p>Annie crushed the box as she retrieved the last cigarette from the pack in her pocket. She squeezed the metal lighter to slow the shaking of her hands. The promising hiss of the paper to the flame sounded loudly in her ears.</p><p>“They were planning to pull the plug on you. It was our last-ditch effort with some experimental technology. Hange insisted that you would be worth saving. I bet she’s eating her words now.” Levi crossed his arms and turned his head away from her, signaling the end of discussion.</p><p>Annie rested on the railing as she blew smoke into the wind, watching the last sliver of orange in the darkening sky. She couldn’t stand to look at the imp-size man behind her at the moment. Clenching her fists so hard that her nails began to bite into her palm, she fumed that her strength had not fully returned to her.</p><p>Levi was the first to break the silence, “What information do you have on Eren Jaeger?"</p><p>Annie stayed quiet for a moment. Her eyes followed the specks of lights emanating from the traffic below. She could barely make out the shapes of the ant-sized vehicles as they zipped through the gridlock streets to predetermined destinations. Like popcorn in a microwave, windows of the surrounding high-rises began to illuminate sporadically, decorating the nightly sky of central metropolitan. Despite all the city noise and hectic motions bordering her, Annie felt a minute of tranquility.</p><p>Taking a deep breath through her nose to subside her torrent emotions, she finally spoke, "Reiner had no reaction when I mentioned Eren.” She paused with her back still at Levi, “Why are you so focused on Eren?"</p><p>It was silent on Levi’s end. He was reluctant to give Annie any additional details.</p><p>"How do you expect me to help you if you don't tell me jack shit?"</p><p>Levi tsked in annoyance. His eyes swung side-to-side in contemplation before begrudgingly giving in, "Eren reunited with his half-brother. We have intel that the two ran off to Marley and created an underground organization, possibly plotting to start a war either for the government or against it. We know they still have connections in Paradis and that we are the potential target of future attacks. They amassed a large cult dubbed ‘The Jaegerist.’ A few members are under investigation for conspiracy, but there are more of them hidden amongst us.”</p><p>Annie turned, finding Levi sharp glare boring into her. “I don't suppose you know anything about that," he inquired.</p><p>Annie shrugged, feigning ignorance. Judging by the name alone, she had an inkling of what he was referring to, but her knowledge was mostly outdated. Levi already had that information from her. Besides, she had lost contact with her old group outside of Reiner. If she could reestablish her connections, she would not need to rely on this douchebag as her ticket out. Levi was her keeper, and he was the worst.</p><p>"You are so useless," the said douchebag muttered under his breath.</p><p>"Then why are you using me to stalk Reiner? If you think he’s a cultist, why don’t you arrest him and interrogate him yourself?" Annie purposefully blew a puff of smoke at Levi’s face. He shot her a warning glare.</p><p>“I don’t know why you’re complaining when you have been enjoying his company every night.” Levi stated nonchalantly, “I thought you said you couldn’t stand him, but here you are, spending more time with him in you than out like some bitch in heat.”</p><p>Levi must have suffered some sort of childhood trauma that defaulted him to slut shaming, Annie concluded. She balled her fists and swallowed her pride, biting down on the cigarette filter. She took a wide step towards him and teased, “Your obsession on this subject makes me think that you actually want me, little man.”</p><p>Levi rolled his eyes and lifted his chin. “You would like that, wouldn’t you, child?” He also took a step forward.</p><p>They let the howls of wind fill their inch gap of silence as they both stood their ground like alpha wolves. Steely gray met with icy blue as they dueled over dominance through an intense glaring contest. Annie was the first to concede, finding Levi’s presence smothering. She backed into the railing behind her and redirected her attention upwards. There were bigger battles to be fought.</p><p>"You said you are going to send me back home to Liberio when I finish this mission. That’s still the case, right?" Annie asked quietly, staring at the darken, starless sky above.</p><p>"Well, guess we both have to sit tight then, since you’re shit at this," Levi huffed, looking very much like a petulant schoolboy.</p><p>Annie wished she didn’t have to rely on this man as her route to return home. However, during her time under custody, the government managed to scrub all of her existence from any records. She didn’t have a passport. She had a driver’s license that was connected to a criminal record. If she tried to use that license for any type of unapproved transportation, Levi would get notified immediately, dwarfing any plans of escape.</p><p>"The world is so different after 4 years." Annie realized too late that she had mused out loud. Reiner must be rubbing off on her.</p><p>"Yea. 4 years ago, I still had my crew. And then you killed them." Understandably, bitterness dripped from every word.</p><p>Annie takes another drag of her cigarette. This was not the subject she wanted to discuss.</p><p>“I placed listening devices throughout the apartment except for the bathroom and the fire escape,” without waiting on Levi to make another patronizing comment, Annie explained, “The moisture and the echoing from the small room isn’t ideal conditions for the devices. Same goes for the external elements in the fire escape.” The technology at Paradis Island is still very behind compared to Marley’s a decade ago.</p><p>Levi did not respond, so Annie took that as a sign of his approval. At the mention of spy technology though, his eyes dropped to her uncovered wrist.</p><p>“Where’s the watch we issued you?”</p><p>Annie’s face contoured into a grimace. “That watch is ugly and outdated, just like the rest of the technology in this goddamn country.”</p><p>The mechanical watch served as a listening device and a tracker but was garbage at telling time. No matter how often Annie corrected it, it always ran a few minutes slow. The high maintenance device also required constant winding and crapped out when submerged in water. There were a few instances where Annie was tempted to smash it to tiny bits with a sledgehammer just to take out her anger on Levi, but she thought better and pulled back.</p><p>“What? Ever since you bought some fancy ass shoes, you think you’re sophisticated now,” Levi mocked.</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes. Conversation with this man was like picking a fight with a brick wall. She dug into one of the pockets in her bag and pitched a small object towards his face. He snagged it mid-flight without a flinch.</p><p>“It got wet,” she drawled with the tobacco stick back in her mouth.</p><p>Levi stared at the watch in his hand. There were some stains in the dial, parts of the chrome paint flaked off from the circular case and the faux leather strap was just days from falling apart. He pulled on the crown to give it a wind, but the small knob just fell off. Maybe the girl had a point. He shoved it into the deep pocket of his coat.</p><p>“You ought to take better care of government property,” he grumbled.</p><p>Annie knew she had won that one.</p><p>She bit back the smirk before beginning again. “The other night, when Reiner got really drunk, he mentioned the named Historia. She’s the Queen, right? What was that about?”</p><p>Levi shrugged, “You tell me.”</p><p>“I’m guessing there was some kind of connection between him and the new queen.” Annie mused out loud. The woman did look awfully familiar, even prior to having her face plastered all over the media. Annie must have been exposed to her at some point four years ago.</p><p>“If Reiner is part a cult, she might have ties to that as well.” Annie proceeded with her train of thought, “But why would a queen need a cult when she rules over the country. Unless…” There were too many pieces missing from this puzzle.</p><p>“I never said that we think he is part of the Jaegerist,” Levi finally intervened. “We are investigating his ties with Marley and the possibility of an inevitable war. Also, Queen Historia does not rule the country, she reigns.”</p><p>Catching confusion on Annie’s face, he continued, “Putting this into terms that even you can understand—the Queen is the figure head of Paradis Island. She makes decisions on specific, inconsequential regulations and meets with outside leaders. Her power is balanced by Prime Minister Dhalis Zachary, who is supported by legislators of the state. He does the ‘heavy-lifting’, to simply put it.”</p><p>Annie let it all sink in as she sucked into the last bit of her cigarette. “So, are you working under the Queen or the Prime Minister?”</p><p>Levi averted his laser focused glare for a second as if he was hiding something. “I am part of the government. That is all you need to know.”</p><p>Annie tried to absorb and parse through all the information that had just been flung at her. There was probably a lesson on this back in school. Truth be told, she had never paid attention in any of her classes besides physical education. Tests were usually multiple choice and easily passable with common sense. It also helped that Bertholdt wrote most of her history papers. Somehow the world just got more complicated now that she actually needed to learn about this.</p><p>Suddenly a realization dawned on Annie, her eyes widened as she looked over to Levi, “Is Reiner the baby daddy? That could be a possibility, right?”</p><p>A short, strangled noise escaped from Levi’s throat that could only be interpreted as a stifled chuckle. Seemingly caught off guard by Annie non sequitur outburst, he shook his head in amusement. “Maybe you should ask your boyfriend.”</p><p>“He’s not my boyfriend.” Annie snarled, flicking the butt of her cigarette to the streets below.</p><p>“Leonhardt, leave the analyses to the experts. You just worry about getting me the information I requested.” Levi’s voice seemed to have softened a bit.</p><p>The blonde nodded reluctantly. She then hesitated before speaking again, “I need a meeting with Armin. To restock.”</p><p>Levi rolled his eyes, “Never forget that you, undeservingly, were given a second chance to atone for your crimes.” The lines on his face appeared less harsh though, “I’ll see what I can do about Dr. Arlert. Consider this meeting adjourned,” with that he left, slamming the heavy door behind him. A brick wedged itself between the door and the frame, preventing it from locking.</p><p>Annie fished for her second pack in her purse, but she felt the lollipop that Reiner handed her earlier.</p><p>At five past five in the early evening, darkness had already shrouded the sky of the late autumn night. Light pollution obscured all the celestial bodies from view saved for the sharp crescent moon. Annie could recall the day of the accident as if it was just yesterday, when her whole world changed.</p><p>Four years ago, one misstep caused Annie her freedom.</p><hr/><p>Annie had always considered herself a careful person. So, reality bit her in the ass when she was caught in one of the infiltration missions—and it had to be Levi of all people to hold her captive. Everything became surreal after that point.</p><p>During the interrogation process, they strapped her to a hard wooden board that was tilted backwards in a shallow inclined, just enough for her head to dip further down than the rest of her body. Her limbs were stretched and pinned, one on each corner. She was wary of their actions but remained tight lipped. Then came the wet cheesecloth that plastered over her entire face, sealing her eyes and mouth but not enough to end her through suffocation. The buckets of ice water followed, pouring on her head at random intervals as questions sniped at her. Time blurred into a long agonizing eternity as they continued to dry drown her.</p><p>Annie thought the whole ordeal was pointless for information gathering because her throat and vocal cords spasmed so violently by the end of it that she was unable to speak even if she wanted to. It was just an excuse for a bunch of sadists to get off watching her suffer. At that point, she knew that her death was the only possible ending whether they could crack her, so she took a chance to escape before she could betray Marley and outlive her usefulness in the eyes of her captors.</p><p>At her weaken state, they dumped her into a cell shackleless after the torture session. Be it a rookie mistake or an answer from the heavens, Annie knew that it was her best chance to make her escape when she caught wind that a new, inexperienced agent was assigned to monitor her that day. She gathered her strength and began plotting. Everything played out exactly like she had envisioned. Well, almost everything.</p><p>The binds that restrained her during her waterboarding session cut into her wrists due to friction from her thrashing. With the only sharp object in her cell being her fingernails, she picked on the open wound, digging passed the surface level of her skin. When the lesion burst open, she prodded and wringed her wrist for blood until a puddle gathered next to her on the ground. As soon as she heard footstep approached, she feigned unconsciousness. The guard barged through her cell door upon the sight and rushed to check on her. When the officer got close enough to her to feel her rushing pulse, Annie pulled her into a rear naked choke, crushing her victim’s carotid arteries between her bent arm, rendering the guard unconscious after a few seconds. With much urgency, she switched outfits with the officer.</p><p>Although the building was heavily guarded, no one batted an eye at Annie. The uniform was a size too large for her, but she managed to veer away from any attention. She kept her eyes low and forward. As soon as she made it to the exit, she hotwired a police paddy wagon closest to the gate and sped off. That’s when they finally noticed that she was missing from her cell.</p><p>It was surprising that it took so long for anyone to notice that she had escaped. One would think that at least one guard would be monitoring the security footage of wanted criminals. There must be some truth to the rumors that the internal police force was made up of a bunch of lazy idiots.</p><p>Adrenaline surged through her as she sped through the bustling city. Upon circling the same block for the second time, it occurred to Annie that she had no idea where she was going.</p><p>She couldn’t go carelessly contacting Bertholdt and Reiner with the government searching for her and surveying everyone with any ties to her. Although she had not revealed their connection, it only made sense that they monitored students from her class in hopes of catching her or, better yet, another spy. Taking a plane, train or boat was also out of the question. There was no chance that they did not already register her in the travel ban list. Walking into one of these sanctioned ports was basically the same as walking into a police station with a white flag of surrender. Despite her high stamina and endurance levels, it was still impossible for her to swim across an ocean to Marley, especially in her current state. Her only course of action, she concluded, was to go into hiding. Just for a little bit, until she can get a hold of Zeke and the others somehow. That was the best solution. Now she just needed to figure out where.</p><p>The four members of Levi’s team were nearby when an announcement of her escape blasted through their radio. Immediately, they recognized the stolen police car and chased after her in their undercover vehicle. Annie mentally kicked herself for not planning passed the prison escape when she was still in her cell. She wasted too much time milling about. But there was no way she was going back to the torture chamber with them, not alive. And death was not on her agenda.</p><p>She took them around town as they relentlessly pursued her, glued to her ass like a fungal wart. She drove into busy streets and cut into sidewalks and through alleyways, but they were unyielding. It made sense, as the Levi squad was known to be the best of the best. Though, it was probably not hard to be the best when the standard was set so low. At some point during the chase, Annie managed to find the switch for the sirens, which made it easy for people to get out of her way. However, it also made it convenient for the other car to follow her even closer.</p><p>They zigzagged all over the city in what felt like hours when it was only a couple of heart pounding minutes. Annie didn’t care where she was at this point; she was desperate to lose them. The answer came calling when she turned into a street leading to a crowded six-way intersection. She decided to shoot her shot. With no time to second guess, she stomped on the accelerator, running a red-light during rush hour.</p><p>That was the beginning of the end.</p><p>In the chaos, a semi-truck lost control and in order to avoid the police wagon ahead, it swerved. The nine-ton trailer toppled over sideways, crushing the vehicle behind as other cars joined the pile up, killing the four members of Levi’s squad on the spot.</p><p>Annie did not get off scot-free though. When she was distracted by the bedlam from her rearview mirror, another sedan T-boned her.</p><p>Everything happened all at once so fast that even to this day, Annie couldn’t completely process it. There was a loud ringing in her head overlaying against metal screeching upon impact. With her heart thumping against her ribs, Annie felt piercing pain all over her body as her breathing labored. Then the back of her head hit something hard while she whiplashed in the metal prison. Darkness swallowed her immediately, trapping her in her mind for the next three and a half years.</p><p>It wasn’t until she woke up, that she learned of the details of the event. That the Levi squad –the best and the brightest in the force at the time— was killed because of her. That many pedestrians were injured and several thousands of dollars in damages were inflicted. However, if you ask her whether she would do it again knowing that people would be killed on the journey, if she could have gotten away this time around, she would without a doubt answer yes. There was no guilt to be had because it was their choice to go after her. If they left her alone, she would be home, and they would still have their lives… maybe.</p><p>After her awakening, she endured more torture while undergoing rehabilitation. This time she was too disoriented to keep her lips sealed. Most of her information had been moot and useless at that point. She had a funny relationship with lady luck though.</p><p>“Our lead agent went missing. It just so happens that you are the perfect candidate for the role. You have a choice to take her place or die as a criminal.”</p><p>Those magical words that spared her life.</p><p>“How can I trust that you won’t pull the rug from under me when the job is done?”</p><p>Hange and Levi made a deal with Annie for her to return home to Marley once the mission was complete. Although the details of the arrangement were hazy at best, she was too desperate to refuse the offer. It was that or her execution and, in the end, Annie will always fight to live. Four years later and at the mercy of the man who was the bane of her existence, she won’t let anything stop her from seeing her father again. What more could she lose?</p><p>After all, she was a survivalist. Right?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, thank you for reading this and thank you for all the support! I hope you are not overwhelmed or underwhelmed by this chapter (‘whelmed’ seems to have a negative connotation). This chapter was a real challenge initially, I had to let it sit for a month before coming back to it to start fleshing it out. After getting down a rough first draft, every draft progressive became a little more fun until I started really enjoying the interactions between two characters that are completely different from me. I sent this over to my beta reader/editor, who knows nothing about AOT, but she was really helpful cleaning up the conversation and pointing out emotional inconsistencies and just confusing parts in general. There was also a pacing problem in the second section. We went through a Zoom call in the evening to talk through her edits/suggestions as she rocked her baby to sleep. Later, I reworked my overall story outline again to change a plot point that affected this chapter. My beta reader went through the second version and helped me punched up some dialogue. I really want to thank her even though she will never see this because I never gave her the link to this fic. Thank you, M!</p>
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